VIC Power of Attorney - Deciding which Nursing Home Aunt Goes?

[gail9606]

Aunt is 100 years old & has just suffered a mild stroke. She is fully aware of what is going on & totally capable of making decisions about her future care. She was somewhat confused for the first few days, but has since done very well in her recovery.

It was within these early days that the family holding Power of Attorney took the keys to her unit & her check books & invoked the Power of Attorney. Apart from paying any accounts that come in while she is in hospital, do they have the legal right to continue with the POA, IE: deciding which nursing home she will go to?

Aunt's wish is to join her sister in a blue cross home in Mulgrave. The people with the POA want her someplace in Heildeberg where she won't see her sister again.

 

[bluetongue]

Aunt is 100 years old & has just suffered a mild stroke. She is fully aware of what is going on & totally capable of making decisions about her future care. She was somewhat confused for the first few days, but has since done very well in her recovery.

It was within these early days that the family holding Power of Attorney took the keys to her unit & her check books & invoked the Power of Attorney. Apart from paying any accounts that come in while she is in hospital, do they have the legal right to continue with the POA, IE: deciding which nursing home she will go to?

Aunt's wish is to join her sister in a blue cross home in Mulgrave. The people with the POA want her someplace in Heildeberg where she won't see her sister again.

What are the conditions that are noted in the Power of Attorney that allowed the family to act. The Power of Attorney does not allow decisions about lifestyle to be made unless it is a medical Power of Attorney, and then it is only medical decisions to be made. Lifestyle decisions usually result from having a guardian appointed but if your Aunt still has capacity to make her own decisions and a doctor is ready to attest to this, then she can decide where she lives.

Regarding the Power of Attorney, if the condition for the attorneys to act is dependent on the occurrence of a special conditions such as loss of capacity, then this needs to be proven, and the attorneys must act in the best interests of your Aunt and in a similar manner to the way your aunt would make decisions if she did not require an attorney. I suggest you read the following for a more detailed explanation of the Power of Attorney and guardianship and seek legal assistance if your Aunt's wishes are not being adhered to - Powers of attorney and guardianship | Victoria Legal Aid

 

[gail9606]

I can't tell you what was in the power of attorney conditions as I don't have access to it,' the power of attorney was an enduring power of attorney, not medical, my aunt got concerned some years back that the person she had down as her poa had changed her will, I told her that wasn't possible. but now I think she was confused & what may have happened is that his son was added to her power of attorney not her will after she signed, now the original poa person has pr-deceased her & the son now has power of attorney. I am not so worried now as to what will happen to aunt as the accessors agree that she is competent and therefore goes where she wants.

Thank you so much for your help, l love aunt, want her to be where she wants to be which is with her 95 year old sister, otherwise we will have to accept 2 deaths in short time due to broken hearts.

 

[gail9606]

My Aunt now wishes to change her Power of Attorney to another party. Is this just a matter of completing a new form or does a solicitor need to be involved?

Thank you.