There are many things to think about when you’re setting up your estate plan. While your primary focus might be on making sure your beneficiaries receive the assets you want them to get, you should also think about making decisions about who will make decisions for you if you can’t make them yourself.
When it comes to medical care, advance directives and healthcare proxy are two components of an estate plan that can help to better ensure that you receive the medical care you want if you’re incapacitated. These are two distinctly different resources, but they work together.
What is an advance directive?
An advance directive is a document you can write now. It’s a written account of your wishes about various aspects of any medical care you might need down the road. Your stated wishes can be as complex or simple as you want, but you must ensure that you include anything you feel strongly about. For example, you can include your wishes about being resuscitated or being placed on a ventilator.
What is a Healthcare Proxy?
A healthcare proxy is a document that gives someone the legal authority to make decisions for you in the event of incapacitation. The person you name in this document would work closely with your medial care team to guide your care in re: concerns that aren’t detailed specifically in your advance directive. They should be able to do what’s in your best interests and what you’d want, even if the individual doesn’t agree with your wishes.
Getting your estate plan together can help to remove some of the guesswork of making decisions for you if you’re incapacitated. Working with a legal professional who is familiar with these matters can be beneficial since they can assist you with setting everything up in a legally enforceable manner.