Have you thought about what you would want to happen if you became severely ill or incapacitated and could not voice your wishes to family members and doctors? Unfortunately, without the appropriate documentation about how you want medical situations handled, the people around you might make decisions that you would not want them to make.
An Advance Directive is a legal document that outlines a person’s wishes regarding their healthcare and end-of-life care. It provides valuable information to family, friends, and healthcare professionals about what to do if you’re unconscious, terminally ill, or otherwise unable to inform others of how you want them to proceed with your medical treatment.
Elements of an Advance Directive
Advance directives often involve two types of documents:
Living Will
A living will directs people on how to handle your medical treatment if you become incapacitated. The most common scenarios in a living will include decisions about:
- Tissue and organ donation
- Resuscitation if heartbeat or breathing stops
- Feeding tube
- Dialysis
- Comfort care
- Breathing machine
Medical Power of Attorney
Designating a medical power of attorney is another critical aspect of completing an Advance Directive. A medical power of attorney isn’t the same as a regular power of attorney, which is a person who handles your legal or financial matters.
Instead, the person you appoint as your medical power of attorney will make medical decisions based on your wishes. You should pick someone you know who will put their personal feelings or emotions aside and proceed with the type of care you want.
Your medical power of attorney should be willing to discuss ongoing treatment or end-of-life decisions with your medical team if necessary. They should also be ready to advocate for your values and wishes if someone else disagrees with the decisions made on your behalf.
Why Everyone Should Create an Advance Directive
You might think you don’t need an Advance Directive because you’ve been in good health your whole life. However, Advance Directives aren’t just for people with serious diseases or of older ages. Advance Directives are helpful in unforeseen events that may leave you unable to advocate for yourself.
Another essential factor associated with advance directives is the ability to modify or cancel them altogether. Depending on state laws, you can make changes to your advance directive while you’re still alive. If your feelings change about any part of your advance directive, you should update the documents immediately to reflect how you want specific medical decisions handled.
If you have additional questions about creating a comprehensive Advance Directive, our Brandon will and trust lawyers are here to help. Please feel free to contact us at (813) 438-8503 to schedule an initial consultation.