Imagining potential life-threatening scenarios is never easy. It’s even more difficult, or even impossible, if you’re terminally ill, in a coma, or debilitated. Under those circumstances, you might not be able to make sound medical decisions that will help ease your pain. Therefore, having a Healthcare Power of Attorney is necessary.
It’s better to think in advance about these situations and consider a person whom you trust to communicate with your doctors. This individual can share your religious or moral beliefs with your doctor and make sure you get the best possible care.
A Healthcare Power of Attorney is a legally binding document specifying which individual can make medical decisions on a patient’s behalf if they’re unable to do so. When a patient cannot communicate because they’re in a coma or unable to speak, this powerful document ensures a doctor knows their wishes regarding their treatment.
A doctor can’t know whether a patient doesn’t want to be revived or put on life support unless someone informs them. That person is a trusted agent who makes sure a patient’s wishes, and preferences are considered.
Keep in mind that some states don’t allow using a Healthcare Power of Attorney. You’d have to get a form specific to the laws of that state.
Depending on your state, a Healthcare Power of Attorney may also be known as:
Healthcare Proxy
Medical Durable Power of Attorney
Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare
In reality, every person should have a Healthcare Power of Attorney. Unfortunately, as younger people can be in life-threatening situations, it isn’t a document only intended for the elderly. Without this kind of a record, if you are unable to speak, you can’t communicate your wishes with a doctor. Furthermore, if you have specific moral or religious beliefs, medical staff won’t be aware of them unless a trusted agent informs them.
Reasons for obtaining a Healthcare Power of Attorney can vary. In general, it’s used to make your life better in your final moments. If you are terminally ill, end up in a coma, or get badly injured in a car accident, you can cause additional stress to your loved ones without a Healthcare Power of Attorney. In some cases, they might not agree on what would be best for your condition. What’s more, their opinion might differ from yours. Therefore, it’s better to think beforehand and choose an individual who will have the right to communicate your wishes.
Although it sounds like a morbid topic, getting a Healthcare Power of Attorney can be a valuable document when your family may need to make medical decisions for you.
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Creating this valuable document with 360 Legal Forms is easier than you’d think. All you need to do is find it on our website and fill in the required information. After that, we’ll create a Healthcare Power of Attorney that will rely on your jurisdiction laws. You can then decide whether you want to save it as a PDF file or a Word document.
To create your document, please provide:
Personal Information: You should include your full name, mobile phone, address, and date of birth.
Effective Date: The date when the document becomes valid.
Health Care Agent Information: You must provide a full name, address, and mobile phone of an agent you’re authorizing to make medical decisions on your behalf. You can also include information about the secondary agents.
Location: You must include the original place where the document will be kept.
Expiration Date: You can also choose when you want the document to expire. If you don’t do it, it’ll be valid until you decide to revoke it.
Limitations on the Health Care Agent’s Authority: A patient may choose to limit the authority they give to an agent. There might be a procedure you don’t want to be done under any circumstances. If that’s the case, you should specify it in the document.
End-of-Life Decisions: Decisions an agent must make about a patient when they’re deciding on the kind of treatment for life-threatening illnesses and conditions
Health Care Agent: A person designated to make medical decisions on your behalf if you’re unable to do so
Signing requirements may depend on your state. In general, both a patient and a health care agent need to sign the Healthcare Power of Attorney. This also includes a signature from an alternative agent. You should also check the laws in your state regarding the presence of a witness and a notary. While some require only a witness, others may need both.
Once you create your Healthcare Power of Attorney with 360 Legal Forms, you can download it for your records and give it to your health care agent, alternate agents, and a physician. Whenever you go to a healthcare facility, make sure you have a copy of the document.
Decisions a Health Care Agent will have to make can vary. They might need to communicate the type of treatment a patient wants, whether life-support should be used, and which conditions to treat. Finally, they’ll have to make end-of-life decisions.
A Healthcare Power of Attorney can be revoked at any point, as long as the patient is able to make rational medical decisions. Furthermore, if a party appoints a spouse as a Health Care Agent, but they get divorced, a Healthcare Power of Attorney will be revoked, as well. In that situation, you need a Revocation of a Power of Attorney. You can easily get one at 360 Legal Forms.
What happens if my doctor doesn’t want to follow a Healthcare Power of Attorney?
Although notarizing a Healthcare Power of Attorney isn’t necessary, it ensures no party can forge signatures in the future. Plus, it makes a Healthcare Power of Attorney more effective.
No, a Living Will isn’t the same as a Healthcare Power of Attorney. While a Healthcare Power of Attorney authorizes an individual to make sound medical decisions on your behalf, a Living Will outlines how you want to be treated in end-of-life circumstances.
No. There are some restrictions about who you can choose as a healthcare agent. There are also common-sense reasons why you should exclude certain individuals as healthcare agents.
Someone who is mentally incapable, under the age of 18, an operator of a healthcare facility in your community, non-relative employee at a healthcare facility, or your personal healthcare provider should not be your healthcare agent.
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