Choosing your Donee

Learn who can be a Donee, what powers you can grant them, and how to appoint more than one Donee or a Replacement Donee.

What is a Donee

A Donee is someone you appoint to make decisions on your behalf. You can appoint more than 1 Donee, and optionally a Replacement Donee as a backup.

When choosing a Donee, consider someone who:

  • is above 21 years old

  • understands your healthcare and financial wishes

  • can handle the responsibility of making decisions for you

Who can be a Donee

Your Donee must be 21 or older and have the mental capacity to make their own decisions. They can be:

  • your spouse

  • a family member or relative

  • a friend

  • a licensed trust company (for property and affairs matters, under LPA Form 2)

  • a professional deputy, if you have no next-of-kin

What to consider when choosing a Donee

Choose someone who:

  • knows your healthcare and financial wishes well

  • can handle the responsibility of making decisions for you

  • manages their own affairs responsibly, such as their finances

What powers can you grant your Donee

You can grant your Donee powers to decide on your:

  • personal welfare only

  • property and affairs only

  • personal welfare and property and affairs

Personal welfare

Property and affairs

  • Where you should live

  • Day-to-day life (what you wear and eat)

  • Handling your letters or mail

  • Who you may have contact with

  • Healthcare and medical treatment

  • Buying, selling, renting, and mortgaging your property

  • Operating your bank accounts and investing your money

  • Managing your CPF monies

  • Paying household expenses or purchasing any equipment you may need

  • Making monetary gifts on your behalf

In an LPA, Donees are also authorised to sign deeds on your behalf.

You cannot choose a bankrupt to be your Donee for property and affairs.

Appointing more than 1 Donee

If you're appointing more than 1 person to be your Donee, you must decide if they'll make decisions:

  • jointly – all Donees must all agree on all decisions made together

  • jointly and severally – Donees can make decisions separately on their own or together with the other Donee(s)

You can also choose to let your Donees make some decisions jointly, and other decisions jointly and severally.

Choose people who can work well together and understand your wishes. This reduces conflict when decisions need to be made.

Appointing a Replacement Donee

When you make your LPA, you can appoint another person to replace your appointed Donee or Donees if they cannot act on your behalf anymore.

The Replacement Donee will step in to act on your behalf when:

  • your Donee does not wish to be your Donee anymore

  • your Donee becomes bankrupt (this will only affect their power to decide on matters related to your property and affairs)

  • you and your Donee divorce or have your marriage annulled

  • your Donee loses mental capacity

  • your Donee dies

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