An area with an increasing need for legal services in Melbourne is Elder Law. This might seem like an irrelevant topic for some, but it’s an area that over time more and more Australian’s will need to address.
What is Elder Law?
As with many developed countries, due to increasing life expectancy Australia’s population is aging. From 1999 and 2019 the proportion of the population aged 65 years and over increased from 12.3% to 15.9%*. And this proportion size is expected to increase. This has led to an increased need for Elder Law services to help protect the rights and assets of older people in our community.
Law firms with experience and services in elder law in Melbourne, like CKL Lawyers, protect their older clients from situations that come up that can negatively impact their quality of life or their financial position.
Why do I need a Will and Powers of Attorney (Medical & Financial)?
If you’re not an elder yourself, the area of Elder Law can still impact you. It’s important to have a will and power of attorney in place as this will help you as you get older, especially if competency issues come up in the future.
It’s also extremely helpful to you and your family if your parents have these areas addressed before they reach the point in their life to be identified as an elder. So if situations unfortunately do arise in the future there are documents and instructions in place that address how certain issues to be handled.
Competency Claims & Guardianship Issues
If you are concerned that an elderly relative has become incompetent, and it becomes necessary for you to make a competency claim, CKL Lawyers can help. If there is no power of attorney in place the first step is to help you arrange a Geriatrician to examine your parent, grandparent or relative and get an assessment.
Once a person is certified as being incapable of making personal, financial and medical treatment decisions for themselves by not less than two (2) independent qualified Geriatricians, we can help you make a Guardianship Application with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) pursuant to the Guardianship and Administration Act 1986 (s24). If approved an Administrator and Guardian will be able to make personal, financial and medical treatment decisions for the person who has been deemed incapable of making such decisions.
Over the years, we have successfully assisted many clients in applying for Guardianship over an elderly relative who has lost capacity and did not put in place financial and medical Powers of Attorney before they lost capacity.
Challenging Competency Claims
If you have children or a family member that think you can’t copy anymore and are making a competency and guardianship claim, you have the right to challenge any claims and applications. Our team at CKL Lawyers can help you challenge an Application for Guardianship if you can establish that you do have competency.
We have successfully challenged many Applications for Guardianship where the elderly person is then deemed to be capable.
How can our Melbourne Elder Law expert help you?
You may be an elder needing support to fight a claim, or you may be a family member reaching out for help with a competency claim, whatever the situation our team can help.
If you find yourself or family member in an aged-care facility and you suspect elder abuse or neglect by staff, we can also assist you to negotiate better conditions and commence a claim if necessary.
Or, if you’re not sure what kind of help you need, our CKL Law team can advise you on the options you have available for the situation you are facing. With CKL Lawyers you are not in this alone.
* source Australian Bureau of Statistics June 2019
