If you have not yet named someone with Medical Power of Attorney, get this crucial planning in place now. As Claire Horner and I spoke about in this Facebook Live video, https://www.facebook.com/galliganlawfirm/videos/1442796115909715/, it is very important to create this document, now more than ever with the coronavirus, and it can be prepared quickly and easily.
What is a Medical Power of Attorney?
A medical power of attorney is a legal document you use to give someone else authority to make medical decisions for you when you can no longer make them yourself. This person, also known as an agent, can only exercise this power if your doctor says you are unable to make key decisions yourself.
Other Terms for Medical Power of Attorney
Depending on the state where you live, the medical power of attorney may be called something else. You may have seen this referred to as a health care power of attorney, an advance directive, advance health care directive, a durable power of attorney for health care, etc. There are many variations, but they all mean fundamentally the same thing. In some states, your preferences are worked into the document itself, such as your preferences for surgeries, pain treatment, religious preferences and so on. Texas tends not to include wishes within the document, so it is very important to discuss your medical wishes and preferences with your agent.
Be aware that each state has their own laws about medical powers of attorney, so it’s important to work with a qualified estate planning attorney to ensure your decisions will be enforced through legally binding documents. Also, some states may not honor documents from other states (Texas often does this), so even if you made these decisions and created documents in another state, it’s wise to review with an estate attorney to ensure they are legally valid in your state now. If there are any doubts, a new medical power of attorney can be prepared quickly.
What Can My Medical Agent Do for Me?
Some of the things a medical power of attorney authorizes your agent to decide for you:
- Which doctors or facilities to work with and whether to change
- Give consent for additional testing or treatment
- How aggressively to treat
- Give consent to surgeries, medications and so on
I won’t fully discuss it here as I wanted to focus on the most basic medical decision-making document, but there are other similar documents that are also very important, such as a living will which directs end-of-life decisions and a HIPAA release which will facilitate your agent receiving information to make these decisions. See here for a fuller discussion of the other documents. https://galligan-law.com/making-end-of-life-decisions-part-of-your-estate-plan/
We are ready to help walk you through these decisions and prepare a medical power of attorney naming the agent who you trust to make these decisions for you. We are currently offering no-contact initial conferences remotely if you prefer and can arrange for remote document signings. Contact our office today and let us help you make the right choices for yourself and your loved ones.