People say “estate plan” as though it were one document. Three common parts of planning in New South Wales serve different purposes: a will deals with your estate after death, while powers of attorney and enduring guardianship concern decisions during your lifetime.
The will
NSW Trustee and Guardian’s page on wills describes a will as the document setting out who inherits your estate, who the executor is, and any guardianship or trust arrangements for children. Signing and witnessing need care. The ordinary execution requirements are in section 6 of the Succession Act 2006. A gift to a witness can be affected under section 10, and exceptions can apply; do not assume the whole will is invalid simply because a beneficiary witnessed it. Arrange appropriate witnesses and obtain advice if execution is in doubt.
The power of attorney — money and legal decisions
A power of attorney lets someone make financial and legal decisions for you. There are two kinds, and the difference is the whole point: a general power operates only while you can still make your own decisions and ends if you lose capacity, while an enduring power is the one that continues if you do.
The enduring guardian — health and lifestyle decisions
An enduring guardian is appointed to make accommodation, healthcare, lifestyle and medical decisions when you can no longer make them yourself, in the areas you nominate. It is a different appointment from a power of attorney, and money decisions are not part of it.
Questions to settle before you appoint anyone
Who would you actually want deciding each of the three, and have you asked them? Should the same person do all of it, or is that more than one person should carry? What would you want them to know that is not written down anywhere? Where will the documents be kept, and who knows where that is?
Related reading on the narrow parts: what to have ready before making a will, and next of kin, and who actually decides. Practitioners in this area are listed under wills and estates, and the guides explain how the directory is put together.
General information, not legal advice. It does not take your circumstances into account and does not create a lawyer and client relationship. Lawyers of Sydney is operated by Jameson Law; listings describe individual practitioners and firms, and a listing is not a recommendation.