The five arrangements at a glance
| Assistance | Co-decision-making | DMR order | EPA | Advance directive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who decides | The person | Person + co-decision-maker, jointly | The representative (specified decisions) | The attorney, once active | The person, in advance (healthcare) |
| Capacity needed to set up | Yes | Yes (for the agreement) | No — court acts because capacity is lacking | Yes — made while capacity is clear | Yes |
| How made | Agreement by the person | Agreement, registered with the DSS | Circuit Court application | DSS process; activates on notification of incapacity | Written directive, witnessed |
| Covers | Help with information & communication | Specified welfare and/or property decisions | Specified welfare and/or property decisions | Property/affairs and/or welfare, as drafted | Treatment decisions |
| Oversight | Light | DSS registration, reports, review | DSS reports + court review | DSS registration, notification, reports | Applied by clinicians; representative may interpret |
| Full guide | Guide | Guide | Guide | Guide | Guide |
The two questions that choose for you
First: what can the person decide today? Decide alone with help — assistance. Decide genuinely jointly — co-decision-making. Cannot make the relevant decisions even with support — the DMR route. This is the functional test doing the sorting, and honesty here matters more than optimism: over-shooting strips autonomy the Act protects; under-shooting builds arrangements that collapse when tested.
Second: are we arranging for now, or for later? The advance instruments — EPAs and advance healthcare directives — are made while capacity is clear, against a future that may never come; they're planning, not response. The support arrangements answer the present. Most complete family plans mix the two: present support at the right tier, advance instruments while they're still possible.
Combinations and sequences
These aren't rivals. A woman with early dementia might make an advance healthcare directive and an EPA now, use an assistance agreement for the next few years, move to co-decision-making as things progress — and her family might never need court at all. That path only exists if the early steps are taken early: every rung reached late is a rung lost. If you're unsure where your family stands today, the Pathway Finder maps it in two minutes, and a scoping call does the rest.
How our fees work
You get a fixed quote in writing before any work starts — no hourly-rate surprises. If the scope changes, the quote is revised in writing before we continue. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement. How costs work in capacity matters →
Frequently asked questions
Can we skip the lower tiers and go straight for a DMR order?
Only if the person genuinely cannot make the relevant decisions even with support — the court applies the least-restriction principle and will ask why lighter arrangements won't serve. A DMR sought for convenience rather than necessity is both wrong in principle and unlikely to succeed.
What if we choose the wrong tier?
Arrangements can be varied — agreements reviewed, applications made when capacity declines, orders adjusted. The costly errors are the extremes: doing nothing until crisis, or litigating for maximum control at the outset. A well-chosen middle adjusts as life does.
Is there an arrangement that covers absolutely everything?
Deliberately not. The Act rejects global status in favour of specified decisions, so every arrangement is a list. Complete family planning usually means a small set of instruments working together rather than one document to rule them all.
Talk to a solicitor who works with families through capacity law every week. Call Mary Molloy Solicitors today.
Whether you are planning ahead, facing a capacity application, or simply unsure which arrangement your family needs, an early conversation costs little and prevents a lot.
📞 Call 01 5827148Try the Decision Support Pathway Finder
richardoshea@marymolloysolicitors.com · Dublin: The Ormond Building, 31–36 Ormond Quay Upper, Dublin 7, D07 EE37 · Kilkenny: 2 Rose Inn Street, Kilkenny, R95 W58D
Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM — out of hours appointments available