The decision to grant another person authority over your financial affairs is not one to be taken lightly. Yet it is a decision that every adult should address, because the alternative — having no plan in place if you lose capacity — can be far more disruptive, far more expensive, and far harder on your family than any act of foresight could be.
None of us likes to contemplate a time when we may be unable to communicate our own wishes about medical treatment. Yet illness, accident, or the gradual decline that can accompany old age may leave us in precisely that position. An Advance Care Directive (ACD) is South Australia’s legal mechanism for ensuring that your voice is heard even when you cannot speak — and it is one of the most important documents an adult can have in place.
Among the more distressing phenomena encountered in succession law practice is the marriage of convenience — sometimes called a predatory marriage — in which a person cultivates a relationship with an older or cognitively vulnerable individual for the purpose of securing an inheritance. The legal consequences for the victim’s family can be severe, and South Australian law has only recently moved to address them.