Advance Directives: Three Simple Documents That Can Give You Peace of Mind
When used together, health care powers, living wills, and powers of attorney can be powerful tools to make sure your legal and medical wishes are followed if you are unable to implement them yourself. These documents offer relatively inexpensive alternatives to expensive guardianship proceedings for incapacitated loved ones.
Legal power: A power of attorney is a legal instrument that allows a person of your choice (agent) to carry out your affairs if you become legally “incapacitated.” A properly executed power of attorney in the hands of a trusted relative or friend can ensure that your legal, financial, business, and other personal affairs can be managed if you are unable to manage them yourself. A power of attorney can be as broad or limited as you like. For example, you can authorize your agent to handle your bank accounts, real estate, tax or family support needs, or all of your affairs. Although a power of attorney generally takes effect at the time of execution, you can direct it to apply only in a certain event, such as your incapacity. Powers of attorney can be a powerful help for family members who may need to access your financial accounts, manage your property, or handle other matters in the event you are unexpectedly unable to do so. In New York, the standard power of attorney must be executed in accordance with legal requirements. You may want to work with a lawyer in preparing the document so that it can be enforced when you need to.
Health Care Proxy: A health care proxy gives a third party (proxy) the ability to make your medical decisions if you become incapacitated. It is different from a power of attorney because it is the only advance directive that allows another person to make medical decisions in her name. His agent is required to direct his care to reflect his preferences regarding treatment decisions and his moral and religious attitudes toward care. Like a power of attorney, a health care power of attorney is only valid while you are incapacitated. For example, your agent has the ability to direct your attention while you are in a coma or other unresponsive state, but cannot act if you regain the ability to make your own decisions. A health care proxy generally assumes that you have already made your wishes known to the person they designate as your proxy. However, it may be a good idea to also commemorate your end-of-life wishes in a living will. Health care powers of attorney must be executed in a certain way to be binding. You may want to work with a lawyer to make sure your wishes can be carried out if necessary.
Living will: A living will is a document that establishes the type and duration of medical treatment you wish to receive if you suffer from a Terminal disease. In this sense, a living will is more limited in scope than a health care proxy because it only governs end-of-life decisions. An individual has the constitutional right to make decisions regarding the denial or termination of life support. In New York, “clear and convincing evidence” of the patient’s intent must be shown. A living will is not a binding document, but it does serve as “clear and convincing evidence” of your intent. When combined with a health care proxy, a living will can set out in detail the types of treatment you would like to save your life and the circumstances under which each should be given. There are no legal guidelines on creating a living will. However, problems can arise if the terms of your health care proxy conflict with the terms of your living will. To avoid these issues, you may want to work with a lawyer to create both documents.
When written correctly, powers of attorney, health care proxies, and living wills can prevent a multitude of problems associated with illness and end of life. Medical emergencies are emotional enough. Help your family avoid arguments, uncertainty, and costly court proceedings by executing these important documents today.