Enduring Guardianship Lawyers in Sydney & NSW
- Expert legal guidance on enduring guardianship.
- Appoint a trusted person for your future care.
- Protecting your personal & healthcare decisions.
- Ensure your lifestyle wishes are always respected.
Speak to a Lawyer Today
NSW Enduring Guardianship Lawyers Serving:
Seniors & Retirees
Providing peace of mind for seniors and retirees by appointing a trusted guardian to make future health and lifestyle decisions on their behalf.
Seniors & Retirees
Parents & Spouses
Helping parents and spouses create Enduring Guardianships to ensure their personal and healthcare wishes are protected in case of unexpected illness or injury.
Parents & Spouses
Individuals with Health Concerns
Providing urgent and sensitive advice for individuals with a recent health diagnosis, helping them proactively appoint someone to manage their future care.
Individuals with Health Concerns
Comprehensive Estate Planners
Assisting clients who are creating a full estate plan and understand the need for an Enduring Guardian alongside their Will and Power of Attorney.
Comprehensive Estate Planners
Single & Independent Individuals
Guiding single individuals in appointing a trusted friend, relative, or professional to ensure their healthcare and lifestyle wishes are legally protected.
Single & Independent Individuals
Our Specialised Enduring Guardianship Services
Appointing an Enduring Guardian
We expertly draft valid Appointments of Enduring Guardian, ensuring your wishes for future health and lifestyle decisions are legally protected.
Support & Advice for Appointed Guardians
We provide clear legal advice to newly appointed Guardians, helping them understand their important legal duties and responsibilities.
Reviewing & Revoking Appointments
We assist in formally reviewing, updating, or revoking an existing Appointment of Enduring Guardian if your circumstances or wishes change.
Speak to us Now or Request a Consultation.
Our Enduring Guardian Appointment Process
1
Consultation & Strategic Guidance
We start with a detailed consultation to discuss your wishes and provide strategic advice on appointing the right Guardian(s) for you.
Consultation & Strategic Guidance
We start with a detailed consultation to discuss your wishes and provide strategic advice on appointing the right Guardian(s) for you.
2
Drafting Your Legal Appointment
Our lawyers meticulously draft your Appointment of Enduring Guardian document, ensuring it is legally sound and clearly reflects your instructions.
Drafting Your Legal Appointment
Our lawyers meticulously draft your Appointment of Enduring Guardian document, ensuring it is legally sound and clearly reflects your instructions.
3
Document Review & Explanation
We review the complete document with you, explaining each function and clause to ensure you fully understand the authority you are granting.
Document Review & Explanation
We review the complete document with you, explaining each function and clause to ensure you fully understand the authority you are granting.
4
Formal Signing & Witnessing
We guide you and your chosen Guardian(s) through the formal signing and witnessing process, ensuring your appointment is legally valid and effective.
Formal Signing & Witnessing
We guide you and your chosen Guardian(s) through the formal signing and witnessing process, ensuring your appointment is legally valid and effective.
Rated 5-Star By Our Clients
Why Clients Choose Us
Decades of Experience
Our Wills & Estates lawyers have over 50 years of experience in preparing robust Appointments of Enduring Guardian to protect our clients’ wellbeing.
Decades of Experience
Our Wills & Estates lawyers have over 50 years of experience in preparing robust Appointments of Enduring Guardian to protect our clients’ wellbeing.
Personalised & Sensitive Advice
We take the time to understand your personal values, explaining your options in plain English and tailoring the appointment to your specific wishes.
Personalised & Sensitive Advice
We take the time to understand your personal values, explaining your options in plain English and tailoring the appointment to your specific wishes.
Focus on Your Autonomy
Our drafting process focuses on creating a clear legal document that empowers your chosen Guardian to make decisions that reflect your values and choices.
Focus on Your Autonomy
Our drafting process focuses on creating a clear legal document that empowers your chosen Guardian to make decisions that reflect your values and choices.
Complete Peace of Mind
We provide the expert guidance needed to ensure your future health and lifestyle decisions are in trusted hands, giving you and your family peace of mind.
Complete Peace of Mind
We provide the expert guidance needed to ensure your future health and lifestyle decisions are in trusted hands, giving you and your family peace of mind.
Speak to us Now or Request a Consultation.
Appointing Someone to Make Your Health & Lifestyle Decisions
An Appointment of Enduring Guardian is a vital legal document that allows you to choose a trusted person to make crucial personal, health, and lifestyle decisions on your behalf. This appointment only takes effect if you lose the capacity to make these decisions for yourself in the future.
Your Enduring Guardian can make decisions about where you live, the personal services you receive, and can consent to medical and dental treatment based on your wishes and values. It is a proactive step to ensure your wellbeing is always protected by someone you trust.
Enduring Guardian vs. Power of Attorney
It is crucial to understand that an Enduring Guardian does not manage your money or property. Their role is strictly limited to personal, health, and lifestyle decisions. To appoint someone to manage your financial and legal affairs, you need a separate legal document called an Enduring Power of Attorney.
Appointing both an Enduring Guardian for personal decisions and an attorney for financial decisions creates a complete framework to safeguard your future. This ensures that if you lose capacity, all aspects of your life are managed by the people you have chosen, preventing the stress and cost of having a tribunal appoint someone for you.
The Role and Responsibilities of a Guardian
The person you appoint as your Enduring Guardian has significant responsibilities. They must always act in your best interests, make decisions that align with your known wishes, and advocate for your personal care and dignity. You can provide specific directions within the appointment to guide their decision-making.
Choosing the right person is a critical decision, as they will be entrusted with your future wellbeing. This is why the appointment document must be prepared with legal precision, clearly outlining the scope of their powers to ensure your wishes are legally enforceable and understood by healthcare providers.
What Happens if You Don't Appoint a Guardian?
If you lose capacity without a valid Appointment of Enduring Guardian, no one—not even your spouse or closest relative—automatically has the legal authority to make healthcare and lifestyle decisions for you. Your family would be forced to make a stressful and often costly application to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).
The Tribunal would then appoint a guardian for you, who may not be the person you would have chosen. By making a formal appointment now, you take control of your future, save your loved ones from an arduous legal process, and ensure your care is in the hands of someone you personally trust.
Speak to us Now or Request a Consultation.
How Can Our Expert NSW Wills & Estate Lawyers Help?
Wills Drafting & Review
Crafting & updating clear, legally sound Australian wills to ensure your specific wishes for your domestic assets are documented & protected & more…
Wills Drafting & Review
Domestic Estate Planning
Developing tailored Australian estate plans to safeguard domestic assets, minimise tax, & provide for your loved ones effectively & more…
Domestic Estate Planning
International Estate Planning
Expert advice on cross-border estate planning, international wills & trusts, managing overseas assets & navigating tax-efficient wealth transfer strategies & more…
International Estate Planning
Challenging a Will
(Validity Issues)
(Validity Issues)
Expertly challenging the validity of a will based on grounds like undue influence, lack of testamentary capacity, suspicious circumstances, or fraud & more…
Challenging a Will
(Validity Issues)
Contesting a Will
(Family Provision Claims)
(Family Provision Claims)
Assisting eligible persons to contest a will for adequate provision under the Succession Act 2006 (NSW), navigating negotiations & court claims for a fair share & more…
Contesting a Will
(Family Provision Claims)
Defending a Will
Representing executors & beneficiaries in defending the validity of a will against challenges or defending against family provision claims & more…
Defending a Will
Grant of Probate
Guiding Executors through the Supreme Court process to obtain a Grant of Probate, which officially validates the Will and authorises them to act.
Grant of Probate
Appointment of Enduring Power of Attorney
Preparing essential enduring powers of attorney to appoint trusted individuals for your critical financial & legal decisions if you lose capacity & more…
Appointment of Enduring Power of Attorney
Appointment of Enduring Guardian
Drafting appointments of enduring guardians to make crucial personal, lifestyle & healthcare decisions on your behalf if you’re unable & more…
Appointment of Enduring Guardian
Testamentary Trusts
Establishing effective testamentary trusts within your will for asset protection, tax benefits, and flexible provision for beneficiaries & more…
Testamentary Trusts
Intestacy Law & Advice
Guiding families through the complexities of intestacy when a loved one dies without a valid will, ensuring legal distribution of assets & more…
Intestacy Law & Advice
Letters of Administration
Resolving disputes between executors, administrators, or beneficiaries regarding the management & administration of a deceased estate & more…
Letters of Administration
Administration of Estate
Assisting Executors with the administration of deceased estates, ensuring the lawful and efficient collection, management, distribution of assets & more…
Administration of Estate
Advance Care Directive
Drafting clear and legally sound directives to outline your future medical treatment and end-of-life care wishes & more…
Advance Care Directive
Special Disability Trusts
Establishing specialised trusts to provide for the long-term care and financial security of a loved one with a severe disability & more…
Special Disability Trusts
NSW Enduring Guardianship FAQs
What is an Enduring Guardian?
An Enduring Guardian is a person you legally appoint to make important personal, lifestyle, and healthcare decisions on your behalf if you ever lose the capacity to make those decisions for yourself.
What is the difference between an Enduring Guardian and a Power of Attorney?
An Enduring Guardian makes decisions about your health and lifestyle (e.g., where you live, medical treatments). An Enduring Power of Attorney makes decisions about your finances and property. They are separate legal documents covering different areas of your life.
What decisions can an Enduring Guardian make?
They can make decisions about where you live (e.g., a nursing home), the healthcare you receive, consent to medical and dental treatments, and other personal services you require.
Are there decisions an Enduring Guardian cannot make?
Yes. A Guardian cannot make financial decisions, change your Will, consent to a marriage, or make certain restricted medical decisions (like sterilisation) without specific authority from a court or tribunal.
When does the appointment of an Enduring Guardian take effect?
The appointment only becomes active if and when you lose the capacity to make your own personal and lifestyle decisions. While you have capacity, you remain in full control.
Who can I appoint as my Enduring Guardian?
You can appoint anyone over the age of 18 who you trust implicitly to respect your wishes and act in your best interests, such as a spouse, adult child, or close friend.
Can I appoint more than one Enduring Guardian?
Yes, you can appoint more than one person. You must specify if they need to make decisions together (jointly) or if they can act independently (jointly and severally).
Who cannot be my Enduring Guardian?
A person who is involved in providing you with professional care services (such as medical treatment or accommodation) for a fee cannot be appointed as your Enduring Guardian.
Why can't I wait until I need one to make an appointment?
You can only appoint an Enduring Guardian while you have full mental capacity to understand the nature of the document. If you wait until after an accident or illness causes you to lose capacity, it will be too late.
What happens if I lose capacity without an Enduring Guardian?
No one, not even your spouse, automatically has the legal right to make these decisions for you. A family member would need to apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) to have a guardian appointed for you.
Do I need a lawyer to prepare an Appointment of Enduring Guardian?
Yes. To be legally valid in NSW, the appointment form must be signed by you and your appointed Guardian(s) in the presence of a qualified witness, such as a solicitor, who must certify that you understand the document.
Can I give my Enduring Guardian specific instructions?
Yes. You can place specific limits or give directions within the appointment document about the types of decisions you want your Guardian to make, reflecting your values and wishes.
What is an Advance Care Directive?
An Advance Care Directive is a separate document that outlines your specific wishes for future medical treatment. Your Enduring Guardian is legally required to follow any valid directions in your Advance Care Directive.
Does my appointed Guardian have to accept the role?
Yes. For the appointment to be valid, the person you choose must formally accept the role by signing the appointment document in the presence of a qualified witness.
How do I cancel or revoke an Appointment of Enduring Guardian?
You can revoke the appointment at any time, as long as you still have the mental capacity to do so. This must be done using a formal Revocation of Appointment of Enduring Guardian form, and you must notify your former Guardian.
What happens if my Enduring Guardian dies or loses capacity?
Their appointment automatically ends. To avoid having no one to act for you, it is wise to appoint a substitute or alternative Guardian in the original document who can step in if needed.
Can my Enduring Guardian be the same person as my Power of Attorney?
Yes. It is very common to appoint the same trusted person to handle both your financial matters (as your Attorney) and your lifestyle decisions (as your Guardian).
What is the cost of preparing an Enduring Guardianship document?
The cost depends on your specific needs. At PBL Law Group, we provide a clear fee estimate upfront for preparing this crucial part of your overall estate plan.
Does the appointment need to be registered anywhere?
No, unlike a Power of Attorney that deals with property, there is no formal registration required for an Appointment of Enduring Guardian in NSW. It should be kept in a safe place and copies given to relevant parties like your doctor.
Why is an Enduring Guardian a key part of estate planning?
While your Will deals with your assets after you die, an Enduring Guardian protects your personal wellbeing and autonomy while you are still alive but unable to make your own decisions, ensuring your care is in trusted hands.
Expert Legal Help For All Your Needs
Strata Law
Property and strata disputes, building defects claims, setting up new Owners Corporations and more…
Construction & Building Law
Construction and building disputes, building defects, delays and claims, debt recovery and more…
International Estate Planning
Cross-border estate planning, international wills and trusts, tax-efficient wealth transfer strategies and more…
Commercial & Business Law
Starting and scaling your business, banking and business financing, bankruptcy and insolvency and more…
Planning & Environment Law
Environment and planning regulation, land and environment court disputes, sub-divisions and more…
Wills & Estates
Creating, updating and contesting wills, estate planning and administration, probate applications and more…
Speak to us Now or Request a Consultation.
Helpful Links
Site information
How We Can Help
Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.
Copyright © 2025 PBL Law Group. All Rights Reserved
