10 September 2020 - The Guide to Advanced Health Cared Directives

The AHCD is provided under legislation from each State government and empowers adults to make clear legal arrangements for their future health care, end of life, preferred living arrangements and other personal matters. It can run alongside a person's Enduring Power of Attorney and may make the attorney the AHCD maker's substitute decision maker where the maker has lost capacity. It is a very powerful document and great care needs to be had when completing an AHCD.

A typical example of an AHCD in action can be seen in this simple case study. Thirty year old Kayo has recovered from serious injuries in a motor vehicle accident and it is going to take a long time before she would be able to make her own decisions again. Though Anh was Kayo’s Substitute Decision-Maker for health and other decisions, Kayo’s brother Takumi had been appointed as her Financial Attorney several years before to make decisions about her finances when she was unable to. Anh contacted Takumi and asked if they could discuss where it would be best for Kayo to continue her recovery, for example in a dedicated rehabilitation facility, at home with bought-in support, or at Anh’s house with finances to support her care. In this session Grant Abbott from LightYear Docs and Abbott & Mourly Lawyers looks at the establishment, implementation and operation of an AHCD in various states.