Attorney vs executor: What is the difference?
It can sometimes be confusing when we talk about an attorney (for an Enduring Power of Attorney – EPA) and an executor who is appointed in your will and who looks after your estate when you die. The difference, as outlined below, is literally a matter of life and death.
An EPA
An EPA is used when you may not be able to make decisions for yourself. For example, you may become very unwell, or unable to communicate important decisions (you could be away from email or phone access for some time), leading in either case to an inability to make important decisions. Your attorney is the person you trust to act in your best interests – with your property and your wellbeing.
There are two types of EPA – property, and personal care and welfare. Your attorney can be the same person/s or you can choose different people for these two roles.
An attorney’s role
Your property attorney can manage your finances, they can sell your house if necessary and even buy Christmas and birthday gifts for specific people. Your personal care and welfare attorney can make decisions about your medical care, help choose a rest home if you need to move, and consult with other family members about your health.
Most importantly, your attorney makes decisions in your best interests; they only have as much power as you give them in your EPA. Your personal care and welfare attorney cannot, for example, withhold life-saving medical treatment; it is absolutely up to you to decide what your attorney can, and cannot, do.
Who needs an EPA?
EPAs aren’t just for the elderly. They are also for the young man who has had serious injuries in a car accident and struggles with his memory, and for the 50-year-old who is working offshore and wants her partner to sign documents on her behalf.
Without an EPA, nobody can make decisions on your behalf if you can’t make them for yourself. Your parents, spouse or children don’t automatically have this right. The only way around this is to spend thousands of dollars working through the Family Court to get an attorney appointed.
A will
A will is the document that states where you want your assets to go after you die. Your will appoints an executor, or several executors; they will carry out the wishes that are stated in your will.
Executor’s role
An executor works with us to administer your estate and carry out the terms of your will.
Your executor calls in your assets and pays any money you may owe. They ensure, for example, that your daughter gets your engagement ring, your life insurance pays off your mortgage and they invest the rest of your money until your children turn a specified age and can get their inheritance.
Get your affairs in order
Without a will, your assets will be distributed according to the intestacy rules that govern who gets what from what your estate. Without a will, your family may not get what they expect or what you want which could be very upsetting for them.
The only wrong time to get a will and an EPA is when it’s too late. Take back
the power to decide where your assets go when you die, and save yourself and your family much heartache. Get in touch with us about preparing your will and EPA today.