Davis County Advance Healthcare Directives Lawyer

Helping Clients Prepare for the Future

Part of planning for your future is considering what would happen if you were ever too ill or injured to communicate your medical wishes to a doctor or nurse. Whether it’s because you’re unconscious or unable to talk, the inability to make your health care decisions clear would be devastating.

This is why you should prepare an advance health care directive as you begin planning your estate. You can use this legal document to answer common questions that doctors or nurses will likely have as they provide you with the health care you might need in the future. At Able & Strong Law, Inc., our legal team has helped create advance health care directives for numerous clients, and we’d be happy to do the same for you.

What Is an Advance Health Care Directive?

As you start researching advance healthcare directives in Davis County, it’s helpful to note that this estate planning tool has two separate parts to fill out. One is a living will and the other is a health care power of attorney document. While they’re both essential for helping you get the medical treatment you prefer, they have different purposes.

When you fill out the living will, you’ll describe which treatment options you’re open to and which ones you do not want. For example, if you’re for or against certain tests, surgeries, medications, or other medical procedures due to your personal or religious beliefs, you can make this clear in the living will. This way, your physicians, nurses, and family members will be aware of your preferences if you cannot communicate them yourself, as this document only takes effect once you’re too incapacitated to make your own decisions.

The other part of your advance directive is the health care power of attorney. This requires you to choose a person you trust to be your health care representative, meaning they will ensure your physician follows the wishes laid out in the living will. They will also make decisions on your behalf if the medical team has questions that your advance directive does not answer.

What Instructions Do Most Advance Healthcare Directives Include?

Before you fill out any advance healthcare directive forms, you should consider how you feel about specific treatment options. If you don’t have strong feelings about any, you can state on the form that you will leave all medical decisions to the person named as the agent on your health care power of attorney document.

If you’re unsure, you should consider what your main concerns would likely be if you’re ever severely sick or injured. If you’d be happy to survive no matter what, you can instruct your physicians to apply any life-saving and life-sustaining treatment necessary. On the other hand, if you wouldn’t be happy being kept alive by machines or unable to live independently, you can make this clear within your advance health care directive.

Some of the specific treatment options you can address on the advance directive form include:

• Dialysis
• Ventilator
• Blood transfusion
• Medication
• Feeding tube
• Organ and tissue donation
• Autopsy
• Cremation and burial

If you have strong feelings for or against these or other options that your physician might be considering, you should clarify them in your living will. If you have questions about what specific instructions to address when you complete your advance directive forms, contact our Davis County law office to speak with a skilled lawyer with years of experience helping clients establish advance health care directives.

What Is a Health Care Power of Attorney?

The other important part of creating an advance health care directive is deciding who to give health care power of attorney to. This should be a person you trust to not only ensure your physician follows the instructions in your living will, but also make difficult decisions on your behalf.

After all, circumstances may arise that are more complex than the information provided on the advance health care directive forms you completed. For instance, you might need life-sustaining treatment or medications not addressed on your paperwork, or the doctors might feel the instructions are unclear and need your agent to clarify. This is why it’s essential that you choose someone who knows your beliefs and cares about your best interests.

Your agent should also be prepared to apply for health-related government benefits for you, make arrangements for you to be admitted to the hospital or assisted living facility, and sign medical documents on your behalf. They can even hire and fire doctors and nurses from your medical team and request a second opinion when they feel it’s necessary. So, as you prepare to fill out the healthcare power of attorney documents, start considering which friend or family member you could trust to be your agent.

When Should You Call an Advance Healthcare Directives Lawyer in Davis County?

Advance health care directives are recommended for all adults, not just those who are older or facing current health issues. You never know when an accident or illness will leave you unable to communicate your healthcare preferences with your doctors, which is why you can make an advance directive as young as age 18. Of course, if you’ve been diagnosed with a serious or terminal illness, are about to undergo surgery, or are simply getting older, preparing an advance health care directive now should be a priority.

The legal team at Able & Strong Law, Inc. has helped countless clients develop advance directives over the years, so if you’re ready to complete the documents asking about your healthcare preferences and power of attorney, we can assist you. Call our Davis County, Utah law office at 385-438-8801 for a consultation.