What is an Appointment of Enduring Guardian?
An Appointment of Enduring Guardian is a legal document signed by the “principal” (yourself) appointing “guardians”(persons appointed on your behalf) to manage your health and lifestyle affairs should you become incapacitated physically or mentally to do so yourself.
Why should I make an Appointment of Enduring Guardian?
Some of the reasons why you should consider preparing an Appointment of
Enduring Guardian are:
- Being assured that you have a person or persons whom you trust to
legally manage your health and lifestyle affairs should there be a need for
that to happen. - Because this document operates in the event of your incapacity, Doctors,
Hospitals and Nursing Home administrators often require it to be in place as a
condition of their treatment and/or providing accommodation. - You can include in this document a statement commonly called an
“Advanced Care Directive”. This directs your Guardians in relation to your wishes
in the event your health is such that you may not be able to be sustained
without the assistance of appropriate medical machinery. - Your Guardians are the persons legally responsible to make these
decisions for you. In the absence of the document, it might be necessary to
apply to the NSW Trustee and Guardian for the appointment of a person to take on these responsibilities.
Who should I appoint as my Guardians?
You should appoint a person or persons whom you trust will have your
best interests in mind when it comes to your lifestyle. Often people will
choose trusted family members being their spouses and/or children or close
friends.
Can I appoint more than one Guardian?
You can appoint multiple Guardians. They can be appointed to act:
- Jointly. This means that all Guardians must agree on decisions to be
made. - Severally. This means that any one of the Guardians can make a decisions
independently without the consent of the other Guardians. - Jointly and Severally. This means that the Guardians can make decisions together or separately.
Who has to sign the Appointment of Enduring Guardian?Once the document has
been prepared in full, the principal must sign the Appointment of Enduring
Guardian at which point it comes into existence. A Guardian must accept their
appointment by signing before they can actually act pursuant to their appointment.
All signatures must be witnessed by a Solicitor or a Clerk of the Court.
