What is a Health Care Power of Attorney?

If you are unconscious and in a hospital, who will decide the medical care you will receive?

Typically, next of kin would serve in that role. But what if there is a difference of opinion among your loved ones? Who will then make the decision? If you have not made a selection of a representative or there is a conflict among your next of kin, the realistic answer is that the doctors will. You can avoid this result by signing a Health Care Power of Attorney which appoints individuals in the order of your choosing to make health care decisions on your behalf.

Who Makes a Decision When the End is Near?

A living will, or advance directive, is a document that allows you to specify what treatment you want and don’t want if your health condition is considered terminal or you are in some permanent irreversible condition and are, in essential respects, unconscious. You can direct that doctors do certain things or withhold certain treatment if you are in those conditions. That means that the doctors will be given authority to act independently of what your loved ones might wish – that might be good or that might be bad. On the other hand, you can leave the final decision to your loved ones through a Health Care Power of Attorney you have granted to them to make such decisions.

Do You Have a Power of Attorney? Is it up-to-date?

A financial power of attorney is a document which allows someone else to act on your behalf if you are sick or out of the country. This power can be used to pay your bills and access your bank account, for instance. When you hear the term “attorney”, you probably think of a lawyer (also known as an attorney at law). The term actually means “representative” and the power of attorney document allows you to select people of your choice to make decisions for you. If you don’t have a “power of attorney” document and necessary financial decisions must be made when you are unable to make them yourself, your loved ones or others will need to go to court to have a guardian appointed. That will result in needless expense, aggravation, and delay.