Estate planning can be a useful way to address your medical future. It is not just about splitting up the assets that you own and passing them on to beneficiaries. You can also make plans that will assist your family and your medical team if something unexpected happens in the future, whether that is a sudden injury or incapacitation due to a long-term issue like dementia or Alzheimer’s.
The first way to do this is by using a living will. This is a written document, and it gives you a chance to spell out any type of medical care that you want. For instance, maybe you know that you do not want to be resuscitated or that you do not want to be kept on life support. These can be difficult decisions for family members, so using a living will to give them instructions can simplify the process.
Choosing an agent
Your second option is to use a medical power of attorney. This is also a document, but it does not require you to list any types of treatment.
Instead, you use it to choose an agent. In the future, if you are incapacitated or otherwise unable to make your own medical decisions, the agent is then authorized to make these choices for you.
In this way, the document clearly defines who is allowed to decide if you should be resuscitated, kept on life support or given other types of treatment at crucial times. This can help to prevent some disputes between family members because they will know exactly who you have authorized to make these choices on your behalf.
Creating your estate plan
It is important to remember that estate planning should go beyond assets and also address medical decisions. Exactly how you decide to do this is up to you, but you need to know what legal options you have.