An Enduring Power of Attorney is one of those documents that can sit untouched in a drawer or at a solicitor’s office for years.

Then suddenly, your family needs it.

A parent may have gone into hospital, need help managing their finances or be moving into aged care. Someone may need to speak with their bank or super fund, pay bills or deal with the family home.

That’s not the time you want to discover there’s a problem with the document.

Having an Enduring Power of Attorney is important. Making sure it can actually be used when it’s needed is just as important.

What should you check?

Pull out your own Enduring Power of Attorney and, if appropriate, have the same conversation with your parents.

A quick check can help:

1. Where is the original?

Confirm the solicitor still holds it, particularly if the firm has moved, closed or merged.

2. Are the copies usable

Each page may need to be certified, dated and signed. Some organisations also ask for a recently certified copy.

3. Who needs to sign?

Check whether multiple attorneys must act together or can act separately.

4. Review the people appointed.

Are they still alive, willing and mentally able to take on the role?

5. Is there a backup?

A substitute attorney can step in if the first person cannot act.

6. Check property requirements.

In NSW, the document must be registered before an attorney can deal with real estate.

7. Why does this matter?

The important part isn’t simply being able to tick a box and say, “Yes, I’ve got a Power of Attorney.”

It’s making sure the arrangement still works for your family today.

A document prepared years ago may name someone who is no longer the right person. Your circumstances may have changed. Your parents may have moved. A solicitor’s firm may have closed or merged. Or the family might simply have no idea where the original document is.

Without a workable arrangement, a court or tribunal may need to appoint someone to manage the person’s finances. That can mean additional time, cost and stress at a point when the family already has plenty to deal with.

Don’t just check the document

Finding an issue with your Power of Attorney can also be a useful prompt to look at your estate planning more broadly.

When were your Will and other estate planning documents last reviewed? Do they still reflect your family and circumstances today? Do the people you’ve appointed still make sense?

You don’t need to change something simply because a few years have passed. But you do want confidence that the arrangements you’ve put in place will work when your family needs them.

If it’s been a while since your estate planning was reviewed, let me know. I can introduce you to an estate planning professional who can review your arrangements and make sure everything still reflects what you want.