Ringwood Powers of Attorney & Elder Law

An enduring power of attorney under the Powers of Attorney Act 2014 (Vic) lets a person you trust make financial and personal decisions on your behalf if you later lose capacity. Without one, family members usually have to apply to VCAT for an administration or guardianship order — slower, more intrusive and more expensive than acting on a valid appointment.

We prepare enduring powers of attorney in a way that fits the principal's circumstances — joint versus several attorneys, tailored conditions and instructions, commencement triggers, and appropriate safeguards. We also brief the attorney on the limits of the role, so common mistakes that later invite challenge or VCAT scrutiny are avoided.

Under the Medical Treatment Planning and Decisions Act 2016 (Vic), a medical treatment decision-maker appointment authorises a trusted person to consent to or refuse medical treatment on your behalf when you cannot. An advance care directive can also record instructional decisions (refusing specific treatments) or values-based decisions to guide future care.

For older Ringwood clients and families dealing with a recent dementia, stroke or serious-illness diagnosis, aligning the enduring power of attorney, the medical treatment decision-maker appointment and the advance care directive is often the most urgent piece of estate planning. We prepare these documents together so the appointed people and the treating hospital know exactly who is authorised to do what.

Capacity is decision-specific and time-specific — a person may have capacity to make a will but not to manage complex investments, or capacity in the morning but not later in the day. If capacity is in doubt, we advise on obtaining an appropriate medical assessment, on what the treating GP or geriatrician needs to address, and on documenting the file so that the resulting documents can withstand later scrutiny.

Where a relative has already lost capacity and no enduring power of attorney is in place, the family's options usually run through VCAT rather than through a fresh appointment. We advise on what can and cannot be done in that situation, and on what steps are urgent — bill payment, aged care admission, sale of the family home, or protection of assets at risk.

Where a person has lost capacity without a valid enduring power of attorney (or where an existing appointment is not working), family members or friends can apply to VCAT for a guardianship or administration order under the Guardianship and Administration Act 2019 (Vic). Guardians make personal and lifestyle decisions; administrators make financial decisions.

We advise proposed applicants and respondents on VCAT process, the evidence required (including medical evidence of decision-making disability), and on choosing between a family member and an independent guardian or administrator such as the Office of the Public Advocate or State Trustees. Where guardianship or administration orders are already in place, we advise on reviews, reappointments and disputes. A short overview of the tribunal is available in our going-to-VCAT guide.

Not every appointment works. Attorneys sometimes exceed their authority, fail to keep records, prefer their own interests over the principal's, or fall out with other family members about the direction of care. We advise principals (where capacity remains), other family members, and appointed attorneys themselves on their duties under the Powers of Attorney Act 2014 (Vic), on resigning as attorney, on revocation, and on VCAT applications where necessary.

We also advise on complaints to the Office of the Public Advocate, on VCAT applications to review an attorney's conduct, on recovery of misapplied funds, and on interaction with subsequent estate administration and family provision claims.

Undue pressure on an older person to change a will, to transfer property, to add a family member to a bank account or to sign an enduring power of attorney is unfortunately common. It is often subtle and rarely comes with a witness. We advise older clients directly — quietly and confidentially — on their options, and we advise concerned family members on what can (and cannot) be done under Victorian law. We also draw on our estate-litigation experience with attorney abuse and undue influence claims.

Where the concern is criminal (elder financial abuse, theft, fraud), we refer promptly to Victoria Police and to relevant support services. Legal advice complements, but does not replace, those pathways.