How not to end up before the Guardianship Tribunal!
In NSW in the 2018-2019 financial year there were an astounding 6,832 new applications for guardianship and financial management orders brought before the Guardianship Tribunal. 3,666 for guardianship and 3,166 for financial management.
That's more than 130 a week!
And, it wasn’t just old people.
39% of those new applications were for people under the age of 64.
Applications to the Guardianship Tribunal can be made for a variety of reasons, but it’s usually due to an accident or illness. When a person becomes unable to make their own decisions in relation to their finances (like paying bills) or their health and medical needs (like giving consent to medical or dental treatment) someone has to be legally appointed to do these things for them. That's the function of the Guardianship Tribunal.
As with all legal proceedings, guardianship matters can be an extremely traumatic experience for all concerned, but particularly for the person having the orders made for them. It can take a number of months and a number of times at the tribunal before any decision is made and unfortunately, more often than not, the NSW Trustee and Guardian is appointed as the final decision maker. This means they have control of your money and financial decisions (including your superannuation), and also your life decisions such as where you live, what health care you receive, what personal services you receive and giving consent to surgery or dental treatment. They also charge you fees for the privilege.
All because people didn't have a couple of easy-to-prepare legal documents. They either didn't know what they were, or just put it off until it was too late!
So, how do you avoid this happening to you?
Well, the best way is to future proof yourself by choosing the people you want to make these types of decisions for you, NOW. That way, if you do ever become incapable of making decisions for yourself in the future, your decision makers have already been CHOSEN BY YOU, not APPOINTED FOR YOU by a tribunal.
Want to get yourself future proofed so you don’t become a statistic?
We will get these plans in place for you quickly and easily and for a mere fraction of the emotional and financial cost of a Guardianship Tribunal order.
You can use one of our SIMPLE ONLINE FORMS for Enduring Powers of Attorney and enduring Guardian or CONTACT US to arrange a phone/zoom or in home appointment.
Disclaimer: The contents of this article do not constitute legal advice and should not be used as such. Formal legal advice should always be sought in these matters. If you would like to discuss this or any other matter please CONTACT US for an appointment.