How to Appoint an Enduring Guardian: A Step-by-Step Guide
Planning for the future is essential, especially regarding your personal and healthcare decisions. Appointing an Enduring Guardian is one of the best ways to ensure your wishes are followed if you cannot decide for yourself. This guide will walk you through the steps to appoint an Enduring Guardian in NSW, ensuring your loved ones and medical professionals have clear guidance.
What is an Enduring Guardian?
An Enduring Guardian is not just a legal appointee, but a crucial decision-maker for your personal, healthcare, and lifestyle matters if you lose the capacity to do so. This person's decisions, from your living arrangements to your medical treatments, directly impact your well-being. It's not just about trust but about understanding the weight of this role and choosing someone who can handle it with care and responsibility.
Step-by-Step Guide to Appointing an Enduring Guardian
Appointing an Enduring Guardian in NSW involves the correct legal documentation and carefully considering who you choose. Follow these steps to ensure the process is smooth and legally valid.
1. Choose Your Enduring Guardian
The first step in appointing an Enduring Guardian is selecting the right people, it’s best to have more than 1, that you trust to make decisions on your behalf. These should be trusted individuals who understands your values, medical preferences, and personal needs.
Consider the following when choosing your guardians:
Trustworthiness: Your Enduring Guardian must always act in your best interests.
Communication Skills: They should be capable of effectively communicating with healthcare providers and your loved ones and family.
Availability: Ensure they will be available and able to act when needed.
•derstanding of Responsibilities: Discuss openly with them to ensure they are comfortable with the responsibility and fully understand your wishes.
You can appoint guardians to share the responsibilities or be a backup if your primary choice cannot fulfil the role.
2. Contact Aditi to Begin
Once you've chosen your guardians, the next step is to start the process. Our process will guide you through the steps needed to implement your plan. We help you to specify:
The powers your guardians will have.
How your guardian should act, together or individually or a combination.
Any specific wishes or restrictions you want to place on their decision-making authority.
3. Specify the Powers You Want to Give Your Enduring Guardian
When specifying which powers your Enduring Guardian will have. You can customise this to suit your preferences. Some of the powers you may choose to give include:
Healthcare decisions: Choosing medical treatments or procedures.
Lifestyle decisions: Deciding where and what services you will receive.
Medical consent: Giving or refusing consent to medical treatments, surgeries, or medications.
You may also include instructions that reflect your values, such as preferences about life-support treatment or palliative care.
4. Executing the Enduring Guardian document
Once drafted and approved, it's time to sign it, the signing process is critical to ensuring the document's validity. Without proper witnessing, the appointment may be challenged or deemed invalid, don’t worry Aditi handles this with you.
5. Keep the Document Safe and Accessible
Once the Enduring Guardian document is executed, it’s critical to make sure everyone involved is aware that you have appointed guardians and explained your intentions with regards to the appointments, your instructions and preferences.
If you decide to store your documents with Aditi, we provide copies to yourself Enduring Guardian, family members, and healthcare providers so they know its existence and can act quickly in an emergency.
You may also want to inform your GP and include a note in your medical records stating that you have appointed an Enduring Guardian and specifying their contact information.
6. Review and Update as Needed
Your situation and preferences may change over time, so reviewing your Enduring Guardianship is important, at least every few years or if something significant changes in your health or personal situation. If you want to update your preferences or change your appointed guardian, you can do so through the same easy process Aditi offers.
Final Thoughts
Appointing an Enduring Guardian is crucial in planning for future healthcare and personal care needs. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can ensure that your medical and lifestyle preferences will be respected, even if you can no longer communicate them yourself. Take the time to choose family & / or friends you trust and ensure the process is completed in a manner that you are happy with to provide peace of mind for you and your loved ones.
