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Enduring Power of Attorney - WA

About Product

An individual may create an Enduring Power Of Attorney over one or more aspects of their lives, including acting as a Replacement Trustee of a SMSF. An EPOA comes into effect when an individual either triggers it or loses mental capacity.

This EPOA form is applicable for all states, with a state or territory selection available within the form. Please note these are state specific health forms, and will not have any LightYear Docs branding or formatting.

Provided under Strategist membership.

► The master document has been signed off by Abbott & Mourly and is congruent with Australian law.

General Information

An individual may create an Enduring Power Of Attorney over one or more aspects of their lives, including acting as a Replacement Trustee of a SMSF.  It comes into effect when the individual either triggers it or loses their mental capacity.

Each Australian State has its own provisions in relation to the creation of an EPOA and when it applies.

Benefits

  • Provides a structure for a person not able to manage their financial affairs.
  • Can be used voluntarily or on loss of capacity.
  • Can be restricted to superannuation trustee duties particularly when used for an incapacitated member or if the member lives overseas.
  • Provides cascading Attorneys where one resigns, retires, dies or becomes incapacitated.

Frequently Asked Legal Questions

What happens to any existing EPOA?

If properly executed the new EPOA will take precedence over an existing EPOA only in those areas it seeks to take precedence.

What happens if an Attorney dies or becomes incapacitated?

It is crucial in the planning process to determine who is to be a Replacement Trustee and then the next Replacement Trustee in case something happens to them.

What happens if the Principal moves interstate?

The existing EPOA is generally recognised where a principal moves interstate however it may be a great idea to redo the EPOA.

How long does this document take to assemble?

Depending on the complexity of the data, this document should take approximately 30-50 secs to assemble. If you experience timing outside of this please contact Support via the Surge app, alternatively please read this article for troubleshooting tips https://info.lightyeardocs.com.au/supportcentre/troubleshooting-longer-assembly-times-timeouts .

Is this document a legal document?

All master documents have been signed off by Abbott & Mourly lawyers. Tony Anamourlis of Abbott & Mourly advises that “at no time, due to inbuilt legal protection and security measures can a user change or amend a document on the LightYear Docs platform that has been signed off by a practicing solicitor. To do so would result in the user drafting a document of a legal nature and engaging in the provision of legal services. In addition, it would be a breach of copyright. In our opinion when completing the form fields through the LightYear Docs platform, users and their employees are merely carrying out an administrative task which is not the provision of legal advice.”

However in some complex areas such as the insertion of a varied range of client instructions into a Will or other such documents the user must be mindful of the extent to which a document is being drafted by the user rather than merely the administrative task of completing a form where the relevant fields are inserted into the reviewed and signed  legal document provided by Abbott & Mourly.

The above advice is born out of numerous cases dating back to Re Sanderson, Ex parte Law Institute of Victoria [1927] VLR 394, 397 where the Court held:

“if a person does a thing usually done by a solicitor, and does it in such a way as to lead to the reasonable inference that he is a solicitor – if he combines professing to be a solicitor with action usually taken by a solicitor – I think he then does act as a solicitor.”

Likewise in ACCC v Murray (2002) 121 FCR 428, 448 where Murray was building a franchise business that involved the legal writing and drafting of Wills from scratch based on the client’s personal circumstances.  The Court held that this process was legal work.

Is the document easy to read?

All LightYear Docs products are written in plain English and assessed for readability. If at any time you come across any errors, please contact support@lightyeardocs.com.au.

What lawyers sign off on the LightYear Docs documents?

All LightYear documents are prepared and signed off by Abbott & Mourly from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

Are the LightYear Docs documents reviewed regularly?

All LightYear Docs documents form part of the LightYear Docs internal review process. We review all documents at least annually or when required to do so due to changes in legislation. Further details of this process and a review schedule is include on this website.