Transcript

Advance Medical directives are written, legal instructions about your decisions for medical care if you are incapable of making decisions for yourself. Advance medical directives manage the choices for doctors and caregivers if you are seriously injured, terminally ill, in a coma, near the end of life, in the late stages of dementia, or otherwise mentally incapacitated.

People tend to think that advance directives are only for older adults but this is simply not the truth. Unforeseen injuries and end-of-life conditions can occur at any age; therefore, it is important for all adults to establish these documents. You can receive the medical care you desire while avoiding needless misery by putting these documents in place. You can also relieve caregivers of decision-making responsibilities in times of trauma or affliction by simply planning for the future. Additionally, you also help to lessen uncertainty or disputes regarding the choices you would like your loved ones to make for you.

Advance directive policies may differ from state to state. Whenever a patient is not able to make his/her own medical decisions, a health-care proxy will act in the patient’s best interest. They make the choices that are in line with the patient’s stated will. To draft a suitable advance directive form may require help from a personal doctor and an attorney-at-law. Advance medical directives are essential documents that should be added to each individual’s personal medical records.

Advance medical directives usually fall into three categories: living will, power of attorney, and health-care proxy.

• A living will: This is a legal document that stipulates what kinds of medical treatment are wanted if the individual becomes incapacitated. A living Will, may be general or very specific.
• A health-care proxy: This is a legal document in which an individual authorizes another person to make health-care decisions if he or she is declared incapable of making their wishes known.
• A durable power of attorney (DPOA): The durable power of attorney enables an individual to perform bank transactions, sign social security checks, apply for disability, or other legal transactions when an individual is medically incapacitated.

How to Create an Advance Medical Directive

If you would like to establish an Advance Medical Directive, call Freilich Law. Michael Freilich has been writing the primary documents of estate planning for over 40 years. These include wills, trusts, living wills, living trusts, dying declarations, gifting, medical powers of attorney, financial powers of attorney, animal trusts, advance medical directives, and more. Call for a consultation to (410) 321-0040.