We do all kinds of things throughout our lives to protect ourselves from events that may or may not happen. This is what insurance is all about, and you can apply this principle when you are devising your long-term plan for aging and eventual death.
It is natural to avoid subjects that are not very pleasant to consider. At the same time, you do not want your house to be flooded, but you probably do have flood insurance. With this in mind, let’s look at the value of a durable power of attorney for health care.
Advance Directives
Planning ahead for your active retirement years is necessary and proper, but you should also consider the twilight years that will follow if you want to be pragmatic. Many people become unable to communicate their own decisions at some point in time. You may want to prepare for this possibility in advance.
When it comes to health care decision making, you could execute a durable power of attorney for health care. In some areas, this document is called a health care proxy.
A power of attorney that is not durable would no longer be effective if the person who granted the power was to become incapacitated. A durable power of attorney would remain in effect upon the incapacitation of the grantor of the device.
If you create a durable power of attorney for health care, you name an agent or attorney-in-fact. This agent would be empowered to make medical decisions for you in the event of your incapacitation.
When you have a durable power of attorney for health care in place, you can go forward with peace of mind. Hopefully, you will always be able to make your own medical decisions. However, if you do become unable to communicate them, a decision-maker of your own choosing will be standing at the ready to act for you.
The execution of a durable power of attorney for health care is clearly going to be a benefit to you personally. At the same time, it can provide an added benefit.
If you do not have a durable power of attorney, your closest relative would be asked to make medical decisions on your behalf. Everyone in the family may not be on the same page, and there could be factions who question the authority of the decision-maker.
When you choose your own representative, everyone will know that the person making decisions is the individual that you personally selected, so there would really be no cause for disagreements.
Incapacity Planning Consultation
We would be glad to assist you if you would like to discuss incapacity planning with a licensed professional. To set up a free consultation, send us a message through this page: Southampton PA Incapacity Planning.
Marianne Flood, Estate Planning Attorney
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