Advance care directive | The experienced Adelaide lawyer who comes to you

An advance care directive lets you make others know your intentions if you end up in a position where you can’t speak for yourself. For instance, this might include if you suffer from a stroke, serious mental health episode, dementia or other medical condition, or if you’re involved in a major accident and become unconscious or end up in a coma.

The directive can include such things as when you do and don’t want to be resuscitated or ventilated, what treatment you’d prefer, where and how you want to live and more.

In other words, it can be an important safeguard to making sure your wishes are followed.

When should you make an advance care directive?

Because it’s such an important document, we usually advise you to make one when you make your legal will or Enduring Power of Attorney. However, there are also other times you should strongly consider drafting an advance care directive too. These include:

• If you’re about to enter an aged care facility. (In fact, most nursing homes will request a copy of one before they admit you.)
• If you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness or life threatening or chronic disease
• If you’re in the early stages of dementia,
• If you disagree with your children, spouse, partner or other loved ones about what should happen to you
• If you’re about to undergo major surgery.

We make sure your intentions are communicated

It’s not just important that your directive says what you need it to. it’s also important that these wishes are communicated to your family, friends and health professionals.

That’s why our experienced lawyer, Susan McDonald, doesn’t simply help you draft a document, she also shows you how to put in a plan that gives your wishes the best possible chance of being carried out. This includes storing the original directive for you and giving you the tools you need to make health professionals know it exists. To this end, once your Advanced Care Directive is signed, Susan will provide you with:

• a wallet card
• an Emergency Medical Information Booklet
• information on registering with My Health Record, as well as about how to become a member of MedicAlert.

You can read more about how to communicate an Advanced Care Directive to doctors and other health professionals here.

Advice in the comfort of your own home

Best of all, we provide legal advice in the comfort of your own home. Unlike most lawyers, we won’t make you visit a city office or disrupt your schedule just to meet us.

Contact us to find out more or book an appointment with Susan

Price starting from $250. For more details please visit our price list here.

Who’s behind Wills At Your Home?

Wills At Your Home was founded by experienced solicitor, Susan McDonald. With a background in aged care and palliative care, Susan saw first hand how confusing and emotional it can be to go through the Probate process. So she started a law firm that aimed to take as much stress as possible out of this challenging time by providing affordable advice in the comfort of her clients’ homes.

You can read more about Susan’s story here.

Liability

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation

Related Resources