Decision-making assistance agreements

If you have difficulty making certain decisions on your own without help, you can appoint someone you trust to act as a decision making assistant under a decision-making assistance agreement. This agreement lets you specify decisions you need help with and gives someone the legal authority to help you to make those decisions for yourself. These decisions can be about your personal welfare or your property and money matters.

Your decision-making assistant will help you to gather information and explain it to you. They can help you to understand and weigh up your options. They can also help to let other people know what your decision is.

Making a decision-making assistance agreement

You will be able to appoint a decision-making assistant by making a decision-making assistance agreement. The agreement must be in writing and include details of the decisions that your decision-making assistant will help you with. It must include a statement by you that you understand the agreement. Your decision-making assistant must confirm that they understand their duties and will carry them out.

Read more about Making a decision-making assistance agreement

How do I find out if someone has a decision-making assistance agreement?

You must notify us when you have made a decision-making assistance agreement. We will review it to make sure it meets the legal requirements. If we approve the decision-making assistance agreement, we can provide you with a certified copy of the agreement which can be used by your decision-making assistant to show that they have the legal authority to help you.

If you need to find out if someone else has a decision-making assistance agreement, you can ask them to see a certified copy of their agreement.

Do you have to tell anyone that you are making a decision-making assistance agreement?

You or your decision-making assistant must tell certain people, like your spouse/civil partner and adult children, about the agreement. You must also provide them with copies of the agreement. These people are called your ‘notice parties’. We will provide you with a form that you can send or email to your notice parties.

Read more about Do you have to tell anyone that you are making a decision-making assistance agreement?

Monitoring a decision-making assistance agreement

Your decision-making assistant is not required to submit reports to us unless we request them.

We can send someone to talk to you or your decision-making assistant who can provide us with a report on certain matters relating to the agreement. For example, we can send a general visitor or a special visitor if we receive a complaint about your decision-making assistant or if we want to check that the agreement is working the way that it should.

Ending a decision-making assistance agreement

You or your decision-making assistant can cancel the decision-making assistance agreement at any time. It does not need to be replaced by another type of decision support arrangement. However, if you need more support for making decisions, you might need a co-decision-making agreement or a decision-making representative.

Cancelling your decision-making assistance agreement is called revoking the agreement.

Changing a decision-making assistance agreement

You can decide to change your decision-making assistance agreement at any time. Any changes must come from you and not your decision-making assistant. However, your decision-making assistant will need to agree to the changes.

Changing your decision-making assistance agreement is called varying the agreement

What does it cost?

There is a fee to notify us about the decision-making assistance agreement. There is also a fee to change the decision-making assistance agreement. Some people may not have to pay a fee. This will depend on your individual circumstances, including your income and dependents.

The fee for notifying or changing your decision-making assistance agreement is €15.