How the Decision Support Service could be a big help in many farm households
If you face challenges making certain decisions, or feel you might need support down the line, a new scheme will provide assistance
Anew government-backed service is offering help to anyone who needs support to make certain decisions — or who feels they might need support down the line. This includes people with an intellectual disability, a mental illness, an acquired brain injury or dementia.
Over the years I have encountered numerous situations where people suddenly became mentally incapacitated and did not have any arrangements in place to ensure that their personal needs were met.
In some cases, the person’s family came to the rescue and were in a position to meet any medical and care costs and needs that arose.
However, in some cases this could not happen and the person became a ward of court. This was a cumbersome and costly process, to be avoided if at all possible.
Thankfully with the introduction of the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act 2015, which came into effect last April, the ward of court system has been abolished and the Decision Support Service (DSS) has been established.
Support arrangements
There are five types of support arrangements for people who currently face challenges in making certain decisions, along with those who wish to make provision in the event that they are landed in such a situation in the future:
■ Decision-making assistance agreement;
■ Co-decision-making agreement;
■ Decision-making representation order;
■ Advance healthcare directives;
■ Enduring power of attorney. Here I will deal with the three decision-making arrangements, and in a follow-up article I will look at the advance health care directive and enduring power of attorney.
Decision-making assistance agreement
This type of agreement is where you are capable of making decisions on your own but you would like support in making these decisions and ensuring that they are implemented when the need arises.
You will be able to appoint a decision-making assistant. This person will be someone you know and trust who will help you to get information and explain it to you.
They can help you to understand and weigh up your options. They can also help to let other people know what your decision is.
The agreement must be in writing and include details of the decisions that your decision-making assistant will help you with. It must include a statement by you that you understand the agreement.
The DSS will review the agreement to make sure it meets the legal requirements, and will provide you with a certified copy which can be used by your decision-making assistant to show that they have the legal authority to help you.
You or your assistant must tell certain people — known as ‘notice parties’ — like your spouse/civil partner and adult children, about the agreement. You must also provide them with copies of the agreement.
Co-decision-making agreement
If you are unable to make certain decisions on your own, you can make a co-decision-making agreement, where you choose someone you know and trust (such as a friend or family member) as a co-decision-maker.
Your co-decision-maker will make certain decisions jointly with you. They will help you to gather information and explain it to you in a way that you understand. They will help you to weigh up your options so that you can make certain decisions together.
They can also support you to let other people know about the decision you have made together.
The agreement needs to be witnessed by two other people. It must contain details of the decisions that you and your co-decision-maker will make together.
The DSS have a form that you can use to write down your agreement and they maintain a register of co-decision-making agreements.
The DSS will monitor each registered co-decision-making agreement to ensure it is working the way it should. They will supervise the activities of your co-decision-maker and request a written report every year that must include details of financial matters, costs and expenses related to the agreement.
A decision-making representation order
This provision relates to situations where the person is not capable of making a decision themselves, similar to where the ward of court system might have come into play in the past.
An individual who has a genuine interest in their welfare will be able to ask the court to make a decision-making representation order. If the court agrees that the person is not able to make certain decisions for themselves, it can appoint one or more decision-making representatives to make those decisions on the person’s behalf. The person appointed will generally be somebody that is known and trusted by the applicant. The DSS will monitor decisions made by the decision-making representative.
Fees
The fee for notification of a decision-making assistance agreement is €15. The fee for an application to register or change a co-decision-making agreement is €90.
Court fees will apply for applications to court for a declaration about a person’s capacity in order to make a decision-making representation order.
There may be other costs related to making or applying for a decision support arrangement. This may include a fee for a capacity assessment from your doctor or another healthcare professional.
Making an application
All the information on how to make and submit an application for all of the five services listed above can be found at www.decisionsupportservice. ie. There are also some very useful and readable guides that can be downloaded.