A comprehensive estate plan isn’t just about what happens to your assets when you die. It should also consider what happens if you lose the capacity to make decisions for yourself during your lifetime.
In South Australia, an Enduring Power of Attorney deals with property and financial matters, but what about your health and lifestyle wishes?
This is where an Advance Care Directive (ACD) comes in.
In South Australia, an ACD allows you to:
- Appoint a trusted person (or people) as your ‘Substitute Decision-Maker’ to make medical and lifestyle decisions on your behalf if you are unable to make those decisions yourself.
- Set out your wishes about health care, medical treatment and living arrangements.
- Include binding refusals of certain treatments (which can significantly ease the burden on loved ones who may otherwise be faced with difficult decisions about continuing or withdrawing treatment). They can have confidence that they are respecting your wishes, rather than feeling responsible for making that choice themselves.
- Ensure your voice is heard if you lose decision-making capacity (whether temporarily or permanently).
Without an ACD, decisions may fall to someone who may not be the person you would have chosen and who may not be aware of your wishes, increasing the risk of stress and disagreements among loved ones.
Putting an ACD in place can reduce stress for loved ones by ensuring your wishes are clearly documented.
Book a free intro call with us via the link in our bio to discuss how we can assist you or your loved ones in preparing an ACD.
Book a free chat with us today to discuss how we can assist you or your loved ones in prepared an Advance Care Directive.
We are experienced Wills and Estate Planning lawyers based in Prospect and work with families across Adelaide to help you put in place an Estate Plan that reflects your values and gives you confidence about the future.