Planning Ahead
a guide to putting your affairs in order
Preparing for and coping with bereavement
ISBN 978 1 920720 81 0
© Commonwealth of Australia 2008
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Commonwealth. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs by email to .
Images courtesy of the Australian Government Departments of Health and Ageing and Veterans’ Affairs; and Getty Images.
Published by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Canberra, 2008.
P000063 October 2008
Revised February 2016
Foreword
Many members of the veteran community are reaching a stage in life in which they may be considering the impact that bereavement could have on their loved ones. In particular, they may be thinking about what they can do now to assist their loved ones manage such an event in the future.
Planning Ahead has been designed to provide information to help veterans and their families prepare for bereavement. We hope that the information will be useful for you.
The personal information and checklists included in the booklet and folder will help ensure that important information is available to families when it is needed.
Many ex-service organisations and a number of other key organisations have assisted with this booklet, including the Public Trustee’s Office, the Law Society of New South Wales, Tobin Brothers Funeral Directors, and the Australian Pensioners and Superannuants Federation. The cooperation and contribution of these organisations has been invaluable.
The services and organisations listed in the booklet, including the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, are always ready to provide whatever assistance you may require.
You occupy a special place within the Australian community. The Australian Government and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs are committed to listening to your needs and responding in a way that recognizes your importance in Australia’s past, present and future.
Contents
Foreword...... 1
Introduction...... 4
Help from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs...... 5
Help from ex-service organisations...... 6
Legal and financial issues...... 7
Your will
Power of attorney
Advance care planning
Financial planning
Living independently in your own home...... 12
Housing options
Veterans’ Home Care
Defence Service Homes Scheme
Hardship and loans for housing repairs
Home Support Loans
Defence Service Homes Insurance
Assistance in the provision of care...... 14
Respite care
Residential aged care
Palliative care
When a death occurs...... 16
Pre-paid funerals
Funerals
Funeral benefits
War graves
Notifying the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and
Defence Service Homes
Bereavement payments and pensions (VEA)...... 22
Bereavement payments
Surviving partners receiving service and age pension payments
War widow’s/widower’s pension
Income support supplement
Orphan’s pension
Compensation and other benefits for dependants...... 26
Period of service and claim for compensation
MRCA compensation and other benefits
SRCA and Defence Act compensation and other benefits
Coping with bereavement...... 33
The experience of grief and dealing with it
How the Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service (VVCS)
can help with grief
Loneliness
Looking after your health
Assistance for families
Reviewing financial arrangements and your ongoing needs...... 37
Superannuation insurance and other financial matters
Re-assessing your needs
Reference section...... 39
Checklists, Forms and Information Leaflets
Department of Veterans’ Affairs addresses, email andtelephone numbers
Department of Veterans' Affairs Publications and Factsheets
Acknowledgements
Note: It is important to remember that information relating to monetary payments, interest rates and home loans is valid at the time of publication but is subject to change. Please seek confirmation at time of application.
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this guide is to help you get your personal affairs in order and to provide information on the services available for family and friends after your death. This guide has been written for members of the veteran and defence force communities and their families. It contains information that will be useful to their carers and the people who act on their behalf or who help and advise them.
Losing a family member is one of the most distressing events that can happen to anyone. By ensuring that your personal affairs are in order, you can make it easier for your loved ones to manage at this difficult time.
How to use this guide
Planning Ahead can be used alongside your up-to-date personal records as a guide to the services available to family and friends after your death. The names of organisations that may be able to help at this time are also included.
It is useful for you to be aware of the information in this booklet and accompanying folder before there is a need for it. If you complete the personal information sheets, medical details form and checklists included, you can ensure the relevant information is available when it is needed.
If you have any questions about departmental services please feel free to raise them with your nearest Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) office. We would also be interested in your feedback regarding this package and any suggestions for improvements.
As well as this booklet, the Planning Ahead package includes:
- Planning Ahead – A Checklist for Notification (P00068)
- This lists all the key people to be contacted in the event of your death.
- Personal Information Sheet (D8729)
- This helps your family with all the details of your personal affairs.
- Medical Details of Veteran (D8730)
- This information might be of assistance for a claim
for a war widow’s/widower’s pension.
HELP FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs offers a range of services and information to entitled members of the veteran and service community, their dependants and carers. This includes:
- income support pensions and allowances for veterans and their eligible dependants;
- compensation (disability) pensions to veterans and members and former members of the Australian Defence Force;
- medical treatment for veterans and members and their eligible dependants;
- possible financial contribution toward the cost of funerals;
- commemoration of the graves of eligible ex-service personnel;
- assistance with finance for homes (buying, repairs and renovations);
- Veterans’ Home Care;
- Respite care
- Residential aged care
- home and contents insurance;
- Pension Loans Scheme;
- bereavement counselling through the Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service for entitled persons and families.
This guide contains further details on some of these services.
If you have any questions, please telephone the Department of Veterans’ Affairs office on 133 254, regional callers 1800 555 254. The staff will be able to answer your questions and can provide you with the address of the DVA office closest to you.
Note: DVA is unable to supply specific information on an individual to the individual’s family without authorisation. This privacy constraint ceases once an individual is deceased. If DVA cannot assist you with services or relevant information, we will put you in touch with someone who can.
HELP FROM EX-SERVICE ORGANISATIONS
Ex-service Organisations provide help to ex-service personnel and their families. There are a number of ex-service organisations in the community – you may be a member of one or more. There are also organisations that help widow and widowers of ex-service personnel, such as Legacy and the War Widows’ Guild.
There are many Ex-Service Organisations that operate to support and assist veterans, war widow/ers, serving and former Australian Defence Force members and their families. These organisations may provide assistance and advice with pension, compensation, rehabilitation and welfare matters, camaraderie, unit associations and other types of help and support. If you feel that an Ex-service Organisation may be of interest or assistance to you, they can be found in your local Yellow Pages telephone directory or on the internet.
LEGAL AND FINANCIAL ISSUES
Your will
Why you need a will
A will is a legal document that enables you to exercise your right to select the relatives, friends and others (such as charitable organisations) who will inherit your assets when you die.
If you die without a will it may cause unnecessary hardship and distress to your family and friends.
What if you don’t make a will?
If you don’t make a will, your assets will be divided among qualifying relatives and dependants according to a formula set out in government legislation. If you have no relatives, or they cannot be traced, your estate will be paid to the state government. If the result of that statutory distribution leaves members of your family or other dependants in needy circumstances, they can apply to the court for an order under family provision legislation for part of the estate to pass to them. This depends on their needs at the time of the application.
How to make a will
You may choose to make your own will. If you choose to do this you must ensure that it is a clear and valid will. A will is a legal document. Challenges to your will can be expensive and time consuming, and can cause distress to your family and friends. You may also choose to consult a solicitor, a public trustee or private trustee to assist you in drawing up your will. The will must be signed by yourself and two independent witnesses who are not beneficiaries. Your executor should be made aware of his or her appointment as your executor.
When drawing up your will you need to consider the following:
- the likely value of your estate;
- beneficiaries;
- special gifts;
- disposal of the residue; and
- appointing an executor.
Professional trustees are entitled to a commission based on the value of your estate. This ranges between one per cent and four per cent depending on the estate’s value.
Changing your will
Depending on where you live and your social circumstances, you may need to make a new will in any of the following events:
- if you move interstate;
- if any beneficiaries die;
- if you are a member of a couple and you and your partner separate;
- if you become a member of a couple; or
- if you are separated, but not divorced, and you are living with someone else, your new partner may have no claim on your estate unless they are included in the will or have an entitlement under family provision legislation.
It is definitely necessary to change your will in two situations:
- when you marry. A will is automatically revoked when the person who made it marries, unless it was made in anticipation of a particular marriage or marriage in general; and
- if you divorce. In some states (notably New South Wales), termination of a marriage, although not revoking the whole will, will revoke a gift to a former spouse, and the appointment of that spouse as executor, trustee or guardian will be omitted from the will.
If you have a minor change to make to your will, for example, adding a legacy, you don’t need to start all over again. You can do so by adding a codicil (a supplementary addition). Ensure that the codicil is kept with your will.
It is best to get advice from a solicitor, public trustee or private trustee if you are unsure about making or changing a will. Some organisations for the aged offer a free legal service with qualified legal advice and assistance.
Rest Assured – A Legal Guide to Wills, Estates and Funerals in New South Wales 5th Edition by Rosemary Long and Trudy Coffey is available from the internet at
Many organisations, such as the Law Society in your state, produce will kits and provide information on how to write a will. Your local VAN Office can advise you of such organisations in your area.
Note: Ensure that your relatives or close friends know where your will is kept. If you use a safety deposit box ensure that someone else you trust has legal access to it and that a copy is held by your solicitor or accountant.
Power of attorney
Power of attorney
The laws in respect of powers of attorney differ in each state and territory. The following information is intended as a general guide only. It is important that you seek advice specific to your situation. This is best obtained from your solicitor or from the public trustee in your state or territory.
What is a power of attorney?
A power of attorney is a document giving another person the power to deal with your assets, financial affairs and/or medical decisions while you are still alive. This ensures that a trusted person attends to essential matters at the right time. A power of attorney gives a person the power to act on your behalf. This person nominated by you may be:
- a relative;
- a friend;
- a private or public trustee; or
- a solicitor or an accountant.
There are two types of power of attorneys, an enduring power of attorney and a limited power of attorney.
What is an enduring power of attorney?
An enduring power of attorney enables you to give another person or agency legal authority to make financial and/or legal decisions on your behalf. An enduring power of attorney begins operating from a specified time and continues to operate even if you lose the ability to make decisions for yourself at some time in the future. In some states, you can also authorise your attorney to consent to medical treatment, or to withhold or withdraw medical treatment, on your behalf while you are unable to manage your affairs.
Reviewing enduring powers of attorney
Most states have introduced guardianship laws which give guardianship boards or tribunals the power to review enduring powers of attorney if they consider the request for a review is in the best interest of the person who made the enduring power of attorney. These bodies have the power to remove an attorney from office or appoint a substitute attorney. They can reinstate an enduring power of attorney that has lapsed because the attorney is no longer able to act.
Why would I need an enduring power of attorney?
If you lose your decision-making ability through illness, accident or trauma and you have not made provision for another person or agency to manage your financial affairs on your behalf, it may be necessary for an administrator to be legally appointed to make those decisions for you. The guardianship and administration board of your state or territory chooses the administrator. The person or agency appointed by the board may not be the same as you would have chosen for yourself.
An enduring power of attorney enables you to take action now to ensure that your best interests are safeguarded if you lose your ability to make decisions for yourself at some time in the future.
What is a limited power of attorney?
A limited power of attorney allows a person to act on your behalf in specific circumstances only, for example in dealing with a specific financial matter such as the sale of a house. You specify what the person can do on your behalf and for how long. It applies only while you are capable of making your own decisions. If this capacity is lost, a limited power of attorney is no longer valid.
When should a power of attorney be considered?
If you are planning to travel overseas or if you are in failing health, it is wise to consider appointing a trusted relative, friend or adviser as an enduring or limited power of attorney to act on your behalf.
The power of attorney document must be signed whilst you are of sound mind. If you lose the capacity to make reasonable decisions for yourself, you will not be able to sign a power of attorney and other methods of appointing a manager of your affairs will be required. This is usually through the appointment of a guardian or administrator. Remember that a power of attorney gives you the choice as to who will look after your financial and/or medical affairs.
Ending a power of attorney
No specific form of words is needed to end a power of attorney, as long as the intention is made clear to the person to whom you have given the power of attorney. A power of attorney is valid without registration unless it is in relation to a transaction affecting land. If it is to be used for land transactions it should be registered with the Land Titles Office or its equivalent. Where the power of attorney has been registered, a written revocation of the power should also be registered with the Land Titles Office, or its equivalent, when revoking power of attorney.
Note: The power of attorney ceases to operate on your death. Your will then become the legal document to dispose of your assets.
What will it cost to establish a power of attorney?
Costs associated with establishing a power of attorney will vary depending on the type of service you choose. It is advisable to shop around for quotes and the service that will be offered for the price quoted. Some organisations for the aged offer a free legal service with qualified legal advice and assistance. In some states Chamber Magistrates provide assistance free of charge.