Professionals sign up to offer service as proxy decision-makers to those who lose mental capacity

SINGAPORE — Individuals may now get professionals to make decisions on their behalf should they lose mental capacity or have no immediate family to be decision-makers. These professionals would be appointed or paid to perform this role, though there is no benchmark set for the fees at the moment.

As of Friday (Sept 21), at least 13 professionals — ranging from chartered accountants to lawyers — have registered to provide such a service under the Professional Deputies and Donees Scheme.

Professional deputies and donees are certified individuals who can help vulnerable individuals such as seniors who are single and those who are childless to make decisions relating to their personal property, assets and welfare.

The difference between a professional deputy and donee, among others, is that a professional deputy is appointed by the court for an individual who lacks mental capacity or who had not appointed a donee prior to losing mental capacity. A professional donee is chosen by an individual while he still has mental capacity.

All registered professional deputies can also act as professional donees.

Plans for a course to train professional deputies and donees were first announced in May.

The Office of the Public Guardian, which sits under the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), said that it has not set any standards for the fee because the scheme is in its early stage. Doing so may impede the take-up rate and could potentially hinder professionals from registering their services, it said.

Some professionals said their fees would be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Corporate lawyer Chia Yong Yong and chartered accountant Francis Chan said that they would take into account factors such as the extent of medical conditions, complexity of caregiving needs and the nature of assets.

Ms Chia told TODAY that the charging of fees will ensure that the scheme is sustainable. For elderly persons who have limited means and no family, she would "more likely (provide) pro-bono (services)", but for those who have families, she would likely charge professional fees.

Ms Chee Wai Yee, an accredited social worker and programme director at the Singapore Hospice Council, said she would be “happy” to consider “being a deputy for people with little financial means but require support to manage their personal welfare”.

She hopes to help the middle income with little or no social support, especially the singles and childless couples and, in her capacity as a professional deputy, low income seniors with little or no social support.

“For the high net-worth individuals, I believe they have more options… to manage their welfare and financial affairs. So, the scheme is likely to benefit the sandwiched class, the middle income, more,” she said.

She felt fee benchmarks would free the registered professionals to compete on the quality of service provided and “give potential users some certainties”, but a consensus on the benchmark would not be easy to achieve.

The gathering of more ground sentiments from potential users could be useful for any future tweaks of the scheme, said Ms Chee.

ENGAGING A PROFESSIONAL DEPUTY OR DONEE

• Fees for services will be based on the scope of work for each client, the Office of Public Guardian said, as the asset size and tasks required may vary greatly across clients.
• For professional deputies, the court will determine if the proposed fees charged are reasonable.
• For professional donees, the donor and professional donees will mutually agree on the fees to be charged for the services provided, since they are appointed by the donor when he has mental capacity.
• The full list of professional deputies and donees, which will be updated as more professionals get on board the scheme, is available on the Office of Public Guardian's website: www.publicguardian.gov.sg
• It will be up to the professionals themselves to publicise their services, an MSF spokesperson said.

WHO CAN BE A PROFESSIONAL DEPUTY OR DONEE

• Practising lawyers, public accountants, chartered accountant, medical practitioners, allied health professionals, registered nurses, registered social workers or social service practitioners
• Before registering, they must pass a four-day course that will equip them with general knowledge of legal processes, financial management and medical decision-making.
• After passing the course, re-registration is required every two years.
• There is no cap on the number of clients a professional deputy can take on, but they should ensure that they have enough time and resources to manage all the cases, the MSF said.

SAFEGUARDS IN PLACE

• A professional deputy's powers is limited by the Family Justice Courts.
• Professional deputies must also submit a schedule of the tasks they intend to carry out and the fees to be charged for each task. The Court must approve of the fees charged.
• A professional donee has powers granted through a lasting power of attorney (LPA), which is a legal document.
• Apart from appointing a professional donee, individuals with sizeable assets may engage licensed trust companies to make decisions pertaining to personal property and wealth. These companies, however, cannot make decisions relating to personal welfare.
• A professional deputy should know his client's needs and preferences to serve them well.

WHY THIS SCHEME MATTERS

• As the population ages, there is an emerging trend of individuals (especially older ones) with no next-of-kin and those who lack mental capacity to make decisions on their own.
• Parliament amended the Mental Capacity Act in 2016, to allow paid professionals to make key decisions for those who can no longer decide for themselves.
• Some Members of Parliament have since called for a stronger push for LPA adoption as the population ages and the number of individuals who lose mental capacity increase.