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New resource for lawyers: Future planning for decision-making and the law in Victoria
Future planning for decision-making and the law in Victoria: A resource for lawyers who practice in future planning, prepared jointly by the Office of the Public Advocate (OPA) and the Law Institute of Victoria, is intended to support lawyers in their work related to powers of attorney by outlining the concept and practice of future planning.
Future planning is an increasingly complex area of law due to legislative reform and increasing knowledge about the potential for misuse of enduring powers. There are more options to consider when completing statutory documents.
After the passing of the new Powers of Attorney Act in 2014, OPA revised its position from one of helping people to fill out the forms to helping them think more fully about their future planning before rushing to sign.
OPA's recent brochure, Take Control of your future decision-making reflects this and replaces the printed Take Control booklet which included all the forms.
‘Future planning’ (or advance planning) is an umbrella term for planning how decisions would be made in the future should a person not be able to make
such decisions themselves due to lack of decision-making capacity.
OPA acknowledges it has no role in setting competencies for lawyers. However, OPA does see it has a role in providing informed referrals and, given its encouragement for people to consider seeking legal advice, it considers such encouragement must be accompanied by some parameters.