Future Planning: EPAs, Wills, and Palliative Care
For: Anyone wishing to document their future care and estate preferences.
Guide review recorded: 2026-10-10. This is the saved guide review date; later source access dates do not mean the guide was reviewed again.
Short Summary
Plan ahead with EPAs for decisions during your lifetime, a will for your estate after death, and advance care planning for future health care. These have different legal roles; a valid, applicable advance directive can give binding consent or refusal for a specific treatment.
Steps & Guidance
- 1
Set up Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs)
While you have capacity to make the arrangement, use the required forms and a qualified legal witness to set up property and personal-care/welfare EPAs. Choose trusted attorneys and discuss their powers. A welfare attorney acts only when you are mentally incapable; a property EPA starts under the conditions you choose.
- 2
Make a properly signed and witnessed will
Name an executor and record how your estate should be distributed after your death. Seek legal guidance on family obligations and any testamentary guardian appointment; naming a guardian does not itself give day-to-day care.
- 3
Create and share an Advance Care Plan (ACP)
Discuss your values and future treatment preferences with your health care team and people you choose. Record, share and review your plan. An ACP can include a valid advance directive for a specific treatment; general preferences are not all binding instructions.
- 4
Explore palliative care pathways
Talk with your GP or treating team about palliative support for a life-limiting illness, including alongside treatment. Ask your local hospice about specialist referral criteria and available services. Palliative care is not limited to the last days of life.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- Confusing an ordinary power of attorney, which is only valid while you are mentally capable, with an EPA, or assuming a will authorises decisions during your lifetime.
- Leaving advance care planning conversations until a crisis, or recording wishes without sharing and reviewing them with your health care team.
Documents & Info to Prepare
- The national My advance care plan and guide at myacp.org.nz/your-plan, provided by Health NZ.
- Names of trusted, willing people you would like to appoint as attorneys; discuss their eligibility and roles with your legal adviser.
Key Contacts
Your local hospice
Detail: Ask about local specialist referral criteria and services.
Visit Your local hospice site (opens in a new tab)Hospice New Zealand — national office
Detail: 04 381 0266 — Mon–Fri 8am–4.30pm; general office enquiries
Visit Hospice New Zealand — national office site (opens in a new tab)Public Trust
Detail: 0800 371 471 — general enquiries and appointments for wills and EPAs
Visit Public Trust site (opens in a new tab)Recorded Evidence & Documents
These are the guide's saved evidence links. They may include official guidance, historical records, community sources or research captures. Recorded class and source dates do not establish current entitlement or independently verified guidance.
Office for Seniors — Enduring Power of Attorney: two-page A4 information leaflet, March 2025
Source: Office for Seniors — Te Tari Kaumātua | Type: PDF
Recorded evidence class: Official guidance
Published: March 2025 | Accessed: June 2026
Recorded evidence boundary: March 2025 introductory leaflet, two physical pages, not a five-page comprehensive legal guide, prescribed form package or standard explanation. Its simplified-language disclaimer defers to relevant legislation. Source identity and current publisher-byte match are verified, but this review does not certify every legal proposition, an individual EPA’s validity, capacity or activation, or current discounts/fees. The prior 2024-named source URL is broken; the preserved 2025 PDF filename, original hash and June 2026 access label remain unchanged. Exact first-release day is unknown; footer edition, technical production, web update and evidence-review dates are separate.
Ministry of Health — Review of Adult Palliative Care Services in New Zealand, March 2017
Source: Ministry of Health — Manatū Hauora | Type: PDF
Recorded evidence class: Official guidance
Published: 30 March 2017 | Accessed: June 2026
Recorded evidence boundary: Historical Ministry of Health report published March 2017, based on adult review work October 2015–September 2016; it is not a new Health NZ 2026 review. The 22-page summary is distinct from the larger reference document and companion action plan. DHB self-assessments, four-region visits and targeted consultation are not a representative patient survey or independent proof of outcomes. 2016 forecasts, 2013/2015 setting data, historical funding, workforce predictions and DHB arrangements are not verified current observations, contracts, service access or treatment instructions. Recommendations and later proposed models do not prove implementation. All 22 pages were read and the current linked official PDF is byte-identical; this identity/full-source review does not verify every clinical/legal proposition against current guidance. Original filename/hash/category and June 2026 capture label are preserved separately from the July 2026 webpage update and October 2026 review.
Hospice NZ — Hospice Community Specialist Palliative Care Core Service Components (November 2023)
Source: Te Kahu Pairuri o Aotearoa – Hospice New Zealand | Type: PDF
Recorded evidence class: Sector evidence
Published: 2023-11-08 | Accessed: June 2026
Recorded evidence boundary: Historical sector-developed service framework, not an enforceable national entitlement, current service directory, clinical prescription or delivered-capacity audit. Document date 8 November 2023 differs from publisher page 4 July 2024 and review 10 October 2026. Proposed 24/7 support and 2025 work completion are not verified delivery. Physical 29-page original, hash, filename and June 2026 capture are preserved; live linked file was byte-identical at review.
Hospice NZ — A Hospice Guide for Carers: He Puka Ārahi Kaimanaaki Pairuri (2024 edition)
Source: Te Kahu Pairuri o Aotearoa – Hospice New Zealand | Type: PDF
Recorded evidence class: Sector evidence
Published: 2024 | Accessed: June 2026
Recorded evidence boundary: Preserved 2024 educational guide, not personalised clinical/legal advice or proof of service/benefit eligibility. The 110-page PDF count is physical; numbered text reaches 106 with covers/blanks. Current publisher 112-page 2026-copyright file differs and retains 2024 acknowledgement wording. Exact local first-release day unknown; June 2026 capture and original bytes retained. Do not treat the p. 67 categorical statement about inability to report illegal drug use as a confidentiality guarantee: current Privacy Commissioner guidance recognises legal disclosure grounds. Simplified DNR/EPA/will material and death-at-home instructions need current professional context; no current national hospice count inferred from the historic 33 figure.
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