Wills & Estates · Snowy Monaro
1 powers of attorney & guardianship firm in Snowy Monaro, New South Wales, including Cooma, Jindabyne.
1 firm
Bombala, NSW · Snowy Monaro
Kennedy & Cooke Lawyers, Narooma provides legal services in Bombala, NSW. Listed practice areas include Property & Conveyancing, Family Law and Litigation & Dispute Resolution.
An enduring power of attorney covers financial decisions and continues if you lose capacity. An enduring guardian or equivalent covers health and lifestyle decisions. Each state has its own forms and witnessing rules, and these documents should be updated when circumstances change.
If you lose capacity without these documents, your family may need to apply to a tribunal to manage your affairs, which is slower and less in your control.
Each state has its own legislation and forms. Enduring guardianship, advance care directives and financial powers are made under state law, and tribunals such as NCAT, VCAT and QCAT appoint guardians or administrators when there's no valid appointment.
Understand the next step
Explain which decisions you want someone to make and when. Planning documents and an application relating to an existing decision-making difficulty are different kinds of work.
Ask about the rules in the relevant state and the difference between financial, personal and health-related decisions.
Clients around Cooma and Jindabyne may need advice relating to a home, business premises, family arrangements or an estate. For accommodation or seasonal business matters, explain whether you are acting as an owner, operator, employee or customer.
For powers of attorney & guardianship, ask which parts of the work the firm handles itself and whether it has relevant NSW experience. Let the lawyer know if a property, employer, other party or existing proceeding is outside Snowy Monaro. Your home address alone does not determine the applicable process.
List family members, property, debts, companies, trusts and superannuation. Identify where original documents are held and which assets are jointly owned.
Ask what each document or application would achieve. Confirm which state rules and asset-ownership arrangements need to be considered.
Agree on signing, storage and future reviews, or on the executor’s responsibilities for records and distributions. Identify changes that should prompt further advice.
Compare a simple-will quote with more involved planning or estate administration. Ask about searches, applications, valuations and coordination with an accountant.
Ask for a written scope identifying the work you are authorising, the person responsible and when costs will be reviewed. If you only want advice on one step, say so before the firm begins wider work.
Provide the date of death and any estate correspondence promptly. Ask about relevant deadlines before distributing assets, signing a release or assuming a dispute can wait.
In New South Wales, most criminal and minor civil matters start in the Local Court, with more serious matters in the District Court and Supreme Court. Tenancy, strata, consumer and guardianship disputes usually go to NCAT. Solicitors are licensed by the Law Society of New South Wales, and complaints about lawyers go to the Office of the Legal Services Commissioner.
Good to know
A tribunal may need to appoint a financial manager or guardian, which is slower and less under your control.
Most matters start in the Local Court. More serious cases go to the District Court or the Supreme Court of NSW. Family law matters are heard by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.
Practising certificates in New South Wales are managed by the Law Society of New South Wales. You can check a solicitor's status on its public register or by contacting it directly.
Directory guidance updated 19 September 2026. General information to help you prepare for a conversation with a professional; not advice about your individual matter. Check current requirements with the relevant authority.