Importance of future planning highlighted for Wills Week

If you or somebody you know is living with dementia mate wareware, there may be a need to have a conversation around what happens in the later stages.

Public Trust is kickstarting this conversation in Will Week 2024 (15-21 July),  to empower Kiwis with the knowledge and confidence they need to write their will.

Getting your affairs in order – like creating or updating an Advanced Care Plan (ACP), a will and setting up enduring powers of attorney (EPAs or EPOAs) – form part of future planning for many people.

These need to be made while a person has mental capacity which means you still have the ability to understand information to make decisions and are important to let people know how you want to live your life. Mental capacity is determined by a medical doctor or other health practitioner.

Wills and EPOAs give you the choice to nominate a person to look after your interests when you can no longer make decisions and to say what your wishes are about the distribution of your estate after your death.

Thinking about what could happen in the future sometimes isn’t easy at times. Start the conversation with whānau about your wishes and what you’d like to happen.

What is an Advanced Care Plan?

Like a will or an EPOA, an Advance Care Plan (ACP) gives you the chance to set out what you want to happen in terms of your future care and treatment.

You write your ACP to help your doctors and whānau know what you would want in certain situations, particularly if you can no longer make yourself understood.

Think about what you might like to happen, then talk it through with those looking after you. Next, write down what you’ve decided and share it with your whānau and doctors. It may be appropriate to have these conversations sooner so you and those around you to have further peace of mind about the future.

What is a will and why is one important?

Have you thought about what you’d like to happen to your assets when you die? A will outlines this, and can also include your wishes for special items, what you would like to have happen to your pets, and outline your funeral arrangements and burial wishes.

Public Trust says making these wishes clear in a will can be very important to loved ones, who will have a clear idea of what your wishes were. If you die without a will it can be stressful for your whānau who may experience additional costs and a longer time frame to get things sorted, and things may not automatically go to those closest to you.

Maybe you have a will already – that’s great news. Or maybe you need to update it due to changes in your life. Think about what you’d like to happen when you die, and create a will to reflect that.

What are enduring powers of attorney (EPOAs)?

There are two types of EPOAs. One for personal care and welfare, and one for property and finances.

EPOAs are legal documents that help ensure your wellbeing, property and finances will be taken care of by people or organisations you trust, should you lose mental capacity and become unable to manage these things yourself.

• A personal care and welfare attorney is a trusted person you appoint to make decisions about your care and wellbeing – if a serious illness or accident results in you not having the mental capacity to make such decisions yourself.
• A property and financial attorney is a trusted person you appoint to make decisions about your property and finances. You can choose when a property and financial EPA comes into effect – it can either apply immediately, or only if you lose mental capacity. You can also appoint a professional trustee organisation like Public Trust for this role.

Public Trust says having a property attorney that can act immediately can be useful as you get older – as you may struggle to take care of your property and finances on your own and wish to put that responsibility in some else’s hands.

Things aren’t automatically taken care of by your friends and whānau. Alternatively, you may only be comfortable with someone making those decisions on your behalf if a serious illness or accident results in you not having the mental capacity to make such decisions yourself.

Planning ahead and getting your ACP, will and EPOAs set up before you need them can help make things easier for yourself and your whānau as dementia mate wareware progresses.

While you probably won’t have to change much straight away, it’s a good idea to start thinking about the things you can do to prepare for your future.