Advance Health Directive

While it is hard to think about end-of-life affairs, death is an essential part of life. When you die, it is hard to imagine how your loved ones will handle the aftermath. Your advance health directives provide them with a set of instructions regarding how to handle certain medical decisions.

Your family members may rely on an advance health directives if any of the below examples happens to a family member:

• Incapacitation
• Terminal illness
• Unconsciousness
• Life support decisions
• Organ donation preferences
• Ceremonial preferences
• Burial or cremation preferences

Your family members will already be stressed during this difficult time, so make things easier on them by creating an advance health directive. Everything you need to know is contained within the article below.

What is an Advance Health Directive?

Advance health directives, also called a “living will,” is a personal directive that you leave to your medical power of attorney to make medical decisions as your healthcare proxy if you are unable to do so in a hospital. You can appoint your healthcare proxy through a durable power of attorney. An advance health directive generally prescribes how to handle specific medical events, such as a terminal illness, as you would if you could consciously make them.

Who Needs an Advance Health Directive?

Everyone should have an advance health directive since everyone has legal rights and may face medical events in the blink of an eye. While it may not be readily apparent, your advance health directive is an essential gift to your loved one. Instead of fretting about your condition as well as making medical decisions, they will have a signed piece of paper in your words that take this burden off their plate.

Here’s another article about advance health directives.

Types of Advance Directives

Advance directives were designed to allow someone to make decisions in your absence regarding every area of your life. If you become incapacitated, your healthcare proxy is better off having authority and direction so that they can follow through on your wishes. There are different types of advance health and financial directives that you will want to create in a comprehensive estate plan.

Types of advance directives include:

• Financial power of attorney
• Advance financial directive
• Medical power of attorney
• Advance health directive
• Living will

You should also name an individual you trust implicitly, such as a spouse, parent, or adult-aged child. The person you name in these directives will essentially have complete control over your health and finances. Ensure that you have the right person in place.

This article also discusses advance directives.

Parts of an Advance Health Directive

There are key components that every advance health directive should contain to serve its intended purpose. Carefully consider the decisions that you will have to make. It can be unpleasant to think about some of these issues, but it is essential that your family has guidance and support in your voice during an already emotionally difficult moment.

Parts of an advance directive include:

1. State your name
2. Acknowledge of authority
3. Ceremonial and burial/cremation preferences
4. Living will directives for terminal conditions and vegetative states
5. Other wishes related to organ donations and autopsies
6. Signature and dateline
7. Witness signature and dateline

Upon signing, your advance health directive is active. Make sure that your durable power of attorney understands expectations and offers clarity if they have questions. A thorough strategy always achieves better results when it comes to estate planning.

You will also want to become familiar with key terms specific to advance health directives, such as:

• Term 1. Advance health directive
• Term 2. Artificial life support
• Term 3. Durable power of attorney
• Term 4. End-of-life-care
• Term 5. Living will
• Term 6. Organ donation
• Term 7. Persistent vegetative state
• Term 8. Terminal health condition
• Term 9. Tissue donation

Upon completing your advance health directive, do not share it with your medical provider. If you later decide to update your advance health directive, and they have an old copy on file, your doctor will use that one instead. You simply need to let your loved ones know that you have an advance health directive in case the unthinkable happens.

Here’s an article about medical and financial directives.

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Examples of an Advance Health Directive

Advanced health directives address any medical situation that you could face in an unconscious or limited state. These directives are provided to a trusted individual, like a partner, spouse, or adult child, who can carry them out according to your wishes. There are more specific scenarios that come into play when using an advance health directive.

Five examples of when you would use an advance health directive include:

1. Indicating that you want to donate your body to science
2. Providing instructions to a spouse in case you’re on life support
3. Communicating how you would like to handle end-of-life affairs
4. Specifying which organs you are comfortable donating to science
5. Establishing whether or not to leave your body on life support

There are other situations in which you may rely on a health directive. However, they are generally limited to end-of-life medical decisions. Do not feel guilty about expressing your true desires and get help with advance health directives from a licensed attorney in your state.

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Get Help with an Advance Health Directive

Get help with an advance health directive by speak with estate planning lawyers . Not only is it a smart, practical way to handle things legally, but they also offer reassurance. They will guarantee that your loved ones have the information they need to make decisions on your behalf.

Here are a few other compelling reasons as to why you should hire estate planning lawyers to get help with an advance health directive.

How Estate Planning Lawyers Help

If you think about it, hiring an attorney is a way to pay someone else to take on your legal problems. Your lawyer has a legal obligation and duty to not take any legal chances. It becomes their liability and problem otherwise, which leaves your family in the clear should an issue arise after your passing.

Estate planning lawyers can also help you tackle other issues related to your end-of-life affairs, including:

• Avoiding probate
• Taking tax advantages
• Transferring wealth
• Protecting your assets
• Providing for your family
• Legal drafting of documents
• Public notary services

Your attorney can draft a living trust, pour-over will, last will and testament, advance health directives, and powers of attorney . Consider discussing your case with a legal professional as soon as possible. Doing so will help you install an advance health directive as quickly as possible while considering all of your legal needs and desires.

Cost of Hiring Estate Planning Lawyers

The legal industry is responding to consumer demands. Estate planning lawyers can draft your health directives for a fairly affordable fixed cost. However, you may decide to draft a more comprehensive estate plan, which can significantly increase your fixed costs.

Other Estate Planning Documents

You may have other legal needs to fulfill when it comes to estate planning. Your attorney will incorporate them into your overall project to ensure that every objective is accounted for. They can offer suggestions, strategies, and insights that you will not find online.