The Office for Senior Citizens has some great advice on why it’s important to have an enduring power of attorney (an EPA) and why you should sign it up well before you might actually need it.
Check out their neat video and their tips on things to think about here, and see our own guidance note as well.
It happens to be the Office for Senior Citizens that’s produced the advice, but it’s not just older people who should check out the benefits of EPAs. Accidents or illness can happen to anyone, at any age.
However young or old we are, we love our independence. We don’t like to think about being unable to make decisions for ourselves – either temporarily or permanently. So sometimes we prefer to give these kinds of conversations the big body swerve. But EPAs actually allow us to make our own choices ahead of time. We can specify who we trust to make decisions, and what we want them to be able to decide on our behalf if it ever ends up being necessary.
After all, if we don’t make that call, someone else will have to. As the video says, “If you have an EPA in place ahead of time, you’ve got someone you trust working on your behalf. You’re not reliant on the Family Court deciding who that is going to be.”
We also don’t like being a trouble to others. Again, an EPA can help. It makes life so much easier and more practical for the people who love you, if you end up needing care. To quote the video again: “If you’re in the situation of having someone you care about requiring that sort of assistance, that’s already hugely stressful, so you want to take as much stress out of the situation as you can.”
So have a quick look at the website and our guidance note. Pull together some information about things like who you’d like your attorneys to be (or who their backups would be if they’re not available), who they should talk to before making decisions, and whether you’d want them to be able to make a decision about your property, your care and welfare, or both. Then come and have a chat with us, and lock in some peace of mind for the future.
