An advance directive is a legal document that designates a person to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to do so. It can include a living will and power of attorney, and anyone over 18 can create one. It can be changed at any time by the person who created it.
An advance directive is a legal document used in health care. It can be a living will or power of attorney and is used in case you are too ill to make decisions about your medical care. If you are too ill or unable to communicate your medical decisions, the advance directive will legally transfer authority for your medical decision-making to a person you previously designated to do so. If you get fit enough to make your own decisions, then the advance directives will end and you will once again make your own choices.
You don’t need an attorney to complete an advance directive, but you can choose to have one if you wish. Anyone over the age of 18 can make an advance directive. This may seem unnecessary at such a young age, but people can get sick at any point in their lives and it’s important to voice your wishes if this happens.
In your advance directive, you will designate someone to make your medical decisions for you. A power of attorney establishes the identity of the person designated to make these healthcare decisions. This may be temporary until you are able to make such decisions for yourself again.
Many advance directives combine a health care power of attorney and a living will. A living will sets out directions for caregivers for end-of-life treatment that you do or do not want. This will only happen if you have a terminal illness, can’t communicate what you want, or are close to death. The power of attorney establishes that a designated person has the authority to make business and financial decisions for you.
The power of attorney document may also state whether or not decisions need to be made when you are unable to make decisions due to illness. This is known as a durable power of attorney for health care and should not be confused with a financial power of attorney. The two can be combined into one legal document if needed.
The person covering the advance directive is called the principal. There are a few provisions that can be included in the directive, including what kind of care the principal wants to receive from doctors in the event of illness, approval of different treatment options, or organ donation in the event of death. Remember, the advance directive is not set in stone and can be changed at any time by the principal while he is still able to make his own decisions.
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