Article 12 of the UNCRPD (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) essentially states that people with disabilities have full legal capacity, including the right to manage their own property, meaning they should be treated as having the same legal rights to own and manage their property as anyone else, without automatic assumptions about their ability to do so based on their disability; it promotes the use of supported decision-making mechanisms where necessary to assist individuals in exercising their property rights.
If a disabled person who relies on a WINZ benefit for income inherits property, it could impact the amount of benefit they are eligible to receive. This is one reason why placing property in a trust can be advantageous: WINZ does not consider a house or car as part of the asset test when determining benefit eligibility.
The UCRPD protects the right of people with disabilities to exercise their legal capacity, which includes the right to make decisions about their personal lives, health care, and finances, even if others might deem their decisions misguided.
Of course the concern for parents and family / whānau of vulnerable adults is that their loved one or family member may be taken advantage of by predators and abused in one way or another.
This raises the ethical issue around their rights in terms of allowing abuse (in whatever form) to happen or continue. While there isn't a single ‘adult safeguarding act,’ Aotearoa New Zealand is actively working to improve safeguarding practices through legal reforms, multi-agency collaborations, and increased awareness and training, with the goal of protecting adults at risk from harm and abuse.
