Checklist · Elder Law & Powers of Attorney / Guardianship
Protocol: verifying remote or digital instructions from older clients (identity, capacity, independence and deepfake risk)
Step-by-step protocol for taking and acting on instructions from older clients by phone, video or email, with call-back, independence and liveness checks, rules for audio visual witnessing, and the AML/CTF identity steps that apply from 1 July 2026.
- Kind
- Checklist. Steps or checks to work through and tick off.
- Where it applies
- Australia, New South Wales
- AI use
- Red Keep AI out of the decisive steps. A lawyer does the work.
- Law stated as at
- 17 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 17 October 2026 against the 5 authorities it cites, for Australia and New South Wales.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use whenever an older client gives instructions, signs documents or authorises payments without being physically present, and whenever instructions arrive through a third party. Prefer in-person meetings for wills and enduring instruments where capacity or influence is in doubt.
How AI may be used
Lawyer-led. AI-generated voices and video can impersonate a client, so identity, capacity and independence are verified by people using trusted channels. AI tools may only schedule calls and log the steps taken.
AI may
- Generate the verification checklist for a matter and log the steps completed
- Schedule call-backs and reminders in the practice management system
AI must not
- Must not be used to verify identity, liveness or that a caller is genuine
- Must not transcribe or record client calls without consent and an approved tool
- Must not draft documents from instructions that have not been verified
The lawyer checks
- Identity verified and call-back made to a known number before acting
- Client seen alone (in person or on video) for instructions about wills, enduring instruments or significant transactions
- AML/CTF due diligence completed where the service is a designated service
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
Read the full text
The full text is for signed-in accounts. It is free. When you sign in you can:
- read the whole precedent, with its drafting notes beside it;
- copy it, or download it as a Word file or Markdown;
- add it to your firm’s knowledge base, so colleagues can find it;
- let the AI tools you connect read it from that knowledge base.
The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
More in Elder Law & Powers of Attorney / Guardianship
- Enduring power of attorney (NSW prescribed form): execution guide and plain-language guidance note for attorneys
- Appointment of enduring guardian (NSW, Form 1 under the Guardianship Regulation 2026): execution guide
- Letter to a medical practitioner requesting a capacity assessment for a specific decision
- Family accommodation (granny flat) agreement with independent advice certificates
- Elder financial abuse and AI-enabled scam red flags checklist (voice clones, deepfakes, impersonation)
All precedents for Elder Law & Powers of Attorney / Guardianship · Tasks and AI use in this area