“Most people know that you need a will when you die but every adult should get an enduring power of attorney for when they are alive.” This is the message that Joanne Jefferies of Upper Hutt would like to share after her family’s experiences in the last six weeks.
An enduring power of attorney (EPOA) is a legal document that comes in two parts covering property which relates to finances, and personal care and welfare which relates to medical and lifestyle decisions. Together these give legal authority to a trusted person to act on another’s behalf should they not have the capacity to do so.
Ms Jefferies says her father went to buy takeaways on Anzac day and while driving suffered an abnormal heart rhythm, causing his heart to stop working properly and his brain to become oxygen deprived.He lost consciousness and drove the car off the road, hitting a tree.
“The last six weeks has been incredibly stressful for myself and Mum too,” Ms Jefferies explains. “Dad is 77 and before this he was fit and healthy and still an active businesses man. Now he is in the Hutt Hospital and although he is physically well and mobile again, he has significant memory loss and clarity issues.
“What’s made it all so much worse is that we didn’t have the legal right to make many decisions for him around his medical care and finances. People think that legal decisions fall to your next of kin if you are not able to make them, but that’s not the case. We had bills coming in that we didn’t know existed, insurances to sort out, business accounts and taxes to pay. With my brothers in Australia, Mum was relying on me to sort things out.”
“Ironically, only a week before it happened, I had been talking to Mum and Dad about updating their wills and getting an EPOA.”
Teresa Thompson, HVDHB Senior Medical Officer, Older Person’s Rehabilitation Service says staff see families suffering with similar situations often. “If you don’t have an EPOA and you are deemed no longer competent, it is a laborious and expensive process for your family to apply for guardianship via the family court. This can occur at a time of already high levels of stress for your family.”
For information about setting up an EPOA contact your family lawyer or Public Trust at http://www.publictrust.co.nz/contact-us2/find-us.Find this article on line at https://www.huttvalleydhb.org.nz/content/default.html
Below: this picture is for illustration purposes only and is not meant to factually represent the article in any way.
