When going through the estate planning process, you may have heard of an advance directive. By learning about what this is and why you should include it in your estate plan, you’ll know how to make the best moves for your future.
What Is an Advance Directive?
An advance directive is a legal document that lays out what kind of medical decisions you want to be made on your behalf if you cannot make them yourself. For instance, if you were to become braindead, would you want the hospital to put you on life support? By having an advance directive in place, you can have control over your health and other aspects of your life when you’re not in the right mental state to do so.
Now, here are the three types of advance directives to consider.
Health Care Proxy
This legal document gives a health care proxy, or a representative, the right to make medical decisions for you if you are incapable of making your own.
Living Will
This legal document stipulates what types of medical treatment you want should you become ill and incapacitated. For example, you could specify that you want to be put on a feeding tube if you are no longer able to feed yourself. Or, you could specify the opposite, and say that you don’t want a feeding tube.
Durable Power of Attorney
With a durable power of attorney, you can provide a power of attorney to someone else if you become incapacitated. This allows the specified individual to sign Social Security checks, make bank deposits and withdrawals, pay your utility bills, or perform other necessary actions when you cannot.
Contacting Legacy Law Group
If you need help creating an advance directive of any kind, you can contact the estate planning attorneys at Legacy Law Group in Eastern Washington, Spokane Valley, and Spokane itself. Get in touch with us at (509) 315-8087.
