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consider a Property and Financial Affairs LPA. One key aspect of the Property and Financial Affairs LPA is that the chosen attorneys can be given authority to act with the donor’s consent while they still retain mental capacity but perhaps need more physical support in managing their affairs which can make this type of LPA very useful.
The Health and Welfare LPA allows an individual to appoint an attorney(s) to make decisions about their health and personal welfare issues, such as where they live, day-to-day care or having medical treatment. If the donor so chooses, this authority can extend to making decisions about the giving or refusal of consent to life-sustaining treatment. Attorneys appointed under a Health and Welfare LPA can only act if it is established that the donor does not have the mental capacity to make the decision in question.
WHO CAN BE APPOINTED AS AN ATTORNEY?
The main drawback, for members of a religious community, is that it is necessary to appoint one or more named individuals to act as an attorney, so it is not possible to appoint the holder of a particular of ce (such as provincial superior) to act from time to time. The donor therefore has to give careful consideration to a suitably named individual to appoint as attorney. The choice of attorney is key and for members of religious communities it may be important to ensure that they appoint someone who understands the needs and demands of religious life while at the same time maintaining the authority to respect the donor’s religious beliefs and the requirements of the
religious community.
It would still be possible to appoint, for example, the existing provincial superior by name to act as attorney, but this has signi cant drawbacks:
Ÿ The appointment would need to be updated every time the of ceholder changes, by drawing up and registering a new LPA (this can be a
costly exercise)
Ÿ If the LPA is not updated the person named as the attorney will have authority to make decisions when LPA needs to be used, not the current holder of the of ce whatever the intention may have been
Ÿ In many religious communities members are all of a similar age pro le. That may lead to the donor appointing an individual to act as attorney who, due to their own health issues, loses capacity rst before the donor
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