01 Oct An Adelaide Lawyer’s perspective on current world uncertainty
Written by Bev Clark
The world seems to be a very uncertain place at the moment. With the current conflict between North Korea and the Trump administration, the recent spate of terrorist attacks including Manchester and London, the current tragedy that has just unfolded in Las Vegas and the devastation of natural disasters such as the Mexico earthquake, it reminds me that although we feel incredibly safe in Adelaide and Australia generally, we are a nation of travellers and we love to explore the world we live in. The current focus of the news on these recent events has reminded me in no uncertain terms that life is fragile and that tragedy can strike at any age.
Yesterday, I had coffee with a young Adelaide professional who asked to meet with me to talk about business networking opportunities. He is clearly ambitious and driven to grow his business and take up every opportunity to develop professionally and succeed in his practice. What struck me about this young professional was his sense of invincibility, not unlike most young people.
In the course of our discussion, we spoke about Wills and associated documents such as Powers of Attorney and Advanced Care Directives.
As is not uncommon when I speak to young people about planning for the possibility of tragedy, they are quick to remind me that they are young. In Australia, young people are far more likely to be involved in car accidents, and indeed I was reminded of a close friend who had recently been involved in a serious motorcycle accident in Bali.
A Will is a document that enables you to speak to the world and let us know what you want to happen to your Estate in the event of your death. An Advanced Care Directive is a document that enables you to give direction to specifically trusted appointees in relation to your personal care and your health decisions in the event that you are not able to speak for yourself. A Power of Attorney is a document that enables you to appoint trusted individuals to act in relation to your legal and financial affairs in the event that you are not able to.
If you are in an accident or suffer an illness that has a temporary or long-term implication and you are not able to manage your own affairs, surely it is preferable for you to have turned your mind to who you trust, who knows about your life and who knows what you would want to be done, while you have the capacity to make that decision, rather than leaving it to chance in the event of such emergency occurring.
Imagine if your brother applied to the guardianship board while you were in a comma to have the management of your affairs. The image that he is someone you haven’t spoken to for two years and he is someone with no business acumen or no common sense around money. The only way you can be sure of who is going to manage your affairs is if you take charge and make those decisions while you have the capacity to do so.
The world is an uncertain place and our lives are precious but fragile. We are all going to die, but we don’t know when and so if you do not have a Will, Power of Attorney or Advanced Care Directive please call us today to rectify that situation. We pride ourselves on offering a very reasonable package price.
If you do have a Will, but you have not reviewed it for a long time please take the time to have a look at it and decide if it still meets your needs. If you have had major life changes since you prepared your Will such as getting married or divorced or having children or if an important person in your family has passed away, then it is appropriate for you to review your own affairs.
Call (08) 82121322 for an appointment with one of our experienced Adelaide Wills Lawyers today.
