Contact Walk-In Wills today for help with will and trust creation, probate, long-term care planning, and other essential estate planning needs.
In the event of a serious medical condition or injury, you may be unable to make important healthcare decisions. In this case, decisions will be left to your loved ones, who may not know your wishes when it comes to preferred medical treatments.
Estate planning safeguards your assets, but it can also protect you while you’re still alive. Along with the many other practice areas we cover, our team at Walk-In Wills also helps clients in Chandler, AZ establish medical powers of attorney.
A medical power of attorney allows you to name a representative to act on your behalf when it comes to healthcare decisions. This person will serve as your proxy, which means they can decide whether you receive certain treatments. Your representative will make decisions based on your own preferences when it comes to medical care to ensure your wishes are honored by healthcare staff.
Personal representatives are integral in many healthcare decisions, such as:
Along with these decisions, a healthcare representative can also inform doctors on how long these treatments should proceed. They can also offer directives on palliative care, which is aimed at increasing comfort but not preserving life.
Serving as a person’s medical representative is a major responsibility. Accordingly, the person you choose must exhibit certain characteristics. They should be assertive, as there’s a chance that medical staff or family members may question their decisions. They should also be willing to ask questions about treatments to ensure they adhere to your wishes.
Once you make a decision, be sure to discuss it at length with the person you choose. Some people may not be able to perform their duty because of personal or religious beliefs. Others may be unwilling to make tough decisions due to your personal relationship with them. These factors must be worked out prior to creating the medical power of attorney document.
Our attorneys understand that lots of estate planning decisions are challenging, especially when they involve things like end-of-life care. That’s why we extend compassion as well as legal knowledge to every client we help.
