Adv. Sharon Katz: Advising and Assisting Clients When Drawing Up an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA)
Adv. Sharon Katz explains why an EPA is important to sort out personal matters and deal with property and health issues, especially when the individual involved does not live in Israel
Most people plan the course of their lives and place emphasis on what will happen after their deaths, particularly in connection with their property. And so they leave a will in which they give details of their wishes to be carried out after their death. Few people think about what will happen during their lives, particularly if they become unable to make decisions or express their wishes or their opinion due to a medical situation, for example dementia. In law it is referred to as ‘the moment in which we are alive but "do not understand the thing" ‘.
In order to prepare optimally for this eventuality, Adv. Sharon Katz draws a timeline for her clients with a line that represents life until death. “On my timeline I also mark out a phase which has a question mark above it. Why a question mark? Because this phase may never happen: a time of mental incapacity. It refers to a phase when you may not understand or may be unable to express your wishes. This period of time necessitates planning and preparation.
What exactly is an EPA and what areas does it deal with?
“In summary an EPA comprises advance instructions in different fields where you choose the people you want to empower to carry out your instructions if the time should come when you are still alive but are not capable of making decisions yourself.
An EPA deals with three fields: personal, financial/property and medical.
Personal means all the things that are important to you personally from a preference regarding the gender of a caregiver to a wish to remain at home as long as possible or to how pets should be cared for. I have clients who have stipulated what music they want played to them when they are not able to express their wishes coherently.
Let me give you an actual example. A widow, while still lucid, stipulates that when she is no longer ‘all there’, her children must continue to take her to her late husband's grave every year and then organize a family lunch in his memory. At the time of drawing up her EPA (in the presence of her children) they say how happy they are that she mentioned this because they would never have thought of ‘schlepping’ her with them. Having made this specific request, her children can now honor it.
The personal aspect may also relate to continued financial support by way of donations, gifts, loans or support for a family member like sponsoring a Bar or Bat Mitzva trip which was done while they were lucid for other grandchildren. (They don’t want the younger generation to miss out!)
Property refers how to deal with and what to do with existing properties and assets
Medical refers to what the clients wants done for them when they are not able to express their will as to medical proceedings that they might need to undergo.
Here I strongly recommend to my clients to take out a Living Will issued by the Ministry of Health. I also recommend they get assistance through LILACH (an NGO which helps people live and die in dignity).”
Experience in law. personal coaching and familiarity with the Anglo-Saxon culture
Adv. Katz was born in South Africa and emigrated to Israel with her family when she was 3 years old. She has been practicing law since 1994, having completed her B.A. at Tel Aviv University in Israel and her L.L.B. at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. As a certified EPA lawyer, she has had experience drawing up dozens of successful EPAs, particularly, but not only, for the Anglo-Saxon community in Israel. Her familiarity with the Anglo-Saxon culture, together with her command of English make her eminently proficient in this field. Another advantage is that Adv. Katz has had training as a personal coach, which enables her to offer additional professional tools, including an ability to listen and make the entire process precise. “I understand my clients’ wishes well, and they repeatedly express their appreciation of this” she explains.
You work a lot with foreign residents.Why is it a good idea to sign an EPAif you have one in another country?
“There are people living abroad who have property in Israel. By making an EPA in Israel they give instructions on how their property would be managed in this country and even if they have an EPA abroad it might be difficult to execute. The empowered person from abroad may face unnecessary obstacles here.
How does that work in practice?
“The person making the EPA must sign in the presence of an Israeli lawyer who has had the required professional training. They cannot, for example, sign at the consulate or in the presence of other witnesses.
Adv. Katz ‘s credo is to help her clients not only by providing expert and trustworthy professional legal services but by offering comprehensive and personal care, listening to what is important to them and ensuring it is reflected in their EPAs.
“Determine today, while you are still clear minded, how you want to live and what you want done, should the time come that you are no longer able to express your needs and wants. Draw up a detailed list of instructions of what you want done by the person / persons you appoint to carry out your wishes when you are no longer competent to do so. Make an EPA”.
Adv. Sharon Katz, Certified EPA Advocate
Address: 42 Bialik St., Ramat Hasharon
Telephones: +972-35496475 | +972 502667595
In collaboration with Adv. Sharon Katz
