It is a legal document that a solicitor prepares.  The document made by you appoints an enduring guardian/s, usually a close family member or friend.  An enduring guardian can make lifestyle and health decisions on your behalf eg. consent to an operation or decide you need to live in a nursing home BUT ONLY when you don’t have the capacity to make these decisions for yourself.

A guardianship appointment can only be made when a person has the capacity to understand the nature of the appointment that is, who they are appointing and what powers they have.  A person with no capacity to understand these issues cannot sign a Guardianship Appointment document.  In this case an application for a Guardianship Order is required at the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT). This can be a cumbersome procedure.

The Guardianship Division of NCAT determines applications for adults who are incapable of making their own decisions and who may require a legally appointed substitute decision maker.

You are never too young to have a guardianship appointment and we encourage our clients to obtain both a guardianship appointment and a power of attorney when they do their Wills.