QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

QUESTION:

SP my husband was recently admitted to a Private Hospital for long term care. This is something I have accepted as he needs a lot more nursing attention. The hospital staff have asked me to get Power of Attorney and Enduring Power of Attorney authorities completed, but I am not sure about what this means.

ANSWER:

According to the “Legal Reference Manual” pub: Wellington Community Law Centre, the following are definitions:

Power of attorney is an authority that a person gives to someone else to look after his or her affairs. There are two types: ordinary and enduring. Ordinary is valid only while the donor of the power retains what is known as “legal capacity”.

Enduring power of attorney continues to be valid even if the donor of the power loses his or her legal capacity.

There are two types of Enduring Power of Attorney: property personal care and welfare.

It appears that the provision for an “enduring power of attorney” is done to plan and prepare for future possibilities and is covered by the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act (the “3 PR Act”). If this provision was not completed when SP had “legal capacity” then there may well be legal doubts raised when you get advice in your situation.

The legal position of SP abilities to understand what he is signing in all aspects of your marriage situation may also be in doubt, if SP is deemed as no longer of “legal capacity”. An application to the Family Court for other orders under the “3PR Act” such as “appointing welfare guardian or making various lesser orders” is an option.

All these are legal matters which ought to be discussed with your legal advisor or perhaps the Public Trust. And always get a quote on possible legal costs involved.

QUESTION:

My SP friend lives alone and I gather is getting home help from the government. But whenever I visit the place looks disorganised, untidy and not as clean as I would expect. SP seems happy with the arrangements, but I know that SP is now living at a lower housekeeping standard. I have done some cleaning up from time to time and offer to do spring cleaning etc but SP says not to bother.

ANSWER:

To take control or not to take control is the question!!! Situations like this are not uncommon for people with Huntington’s Disease. Perhaps this is more noticeable when the person never had to do the housekeeping in the past and therefore does not have existing skills or routines. SP may not be recognising what is an acceptable standard any more and may not have the cognitive abilities to instruct the home helper.

Usually the funding for the home help is allocated by the local Needs Assessment and Service Co-ordination Services (NASC), and then a Home Care Agency is chosen as the service provider. Therefore you need to get SP’s permission to contact the Home Care Agency supervisor to find out what level of home help is provided and what you should expect from the worker. You may also find out how the Home Care Agency perceives the situation and together you can improve things for SP. Sometimes all that is required is for SP to ask for a NASC review and possible increase in hours and/or service.

But much does depend on how accurately SP self reports and what SP will agree to if offered. The criteria for government-subsidised home help needs to be identified in any case.