Why Advanced Directives Are So Important For Your Estate Plan
Advanced health care directives, often called living wills, are the set of wishes and plans you put in place for your care in the event you become incapacitated. Suppose you do not have a living will in place, then the decisions about how long to prolong care and whether or not to donate organs fall to your loved ones. And that’s a burden they don’t have to carry.
At Griffin, Cain & Herbig, Attorneys at Law, PLLC, we get how hard it is to think about your future in these terms. Getting older and losing your ability to make decisions is scary. We help our clients in Conroe and across the state of Texas build their estate plans and provide their families with the guides and help they need for the future.
What Makes Up A Living Will?
Advanced directives are plural for a reason, and that is a good thing because there are many scenarios that you may have complicated thoughts about regarding your health. The basic documents include:
- Do Not Resuscitate orders: These can include both in-hospital and out-of-hospital (OOH-DNR) versions, which dictate how medical personnel – EMTs, nurses and doctors – treat you.
- End-of-life care guidance: Hospice care in a facility vs. at home is a question for many people. Many estate plans also include insurance policies to mitigate extended home care costs.
- Advanced care planning: Incapacitated individuals can live for a long time while unable to make decisions, this part dictates how they’d like to be cared for.
- Medical power of attorney: For decisions not outlined in other parts of your advanced directives, your medical power of attorney can make health decisions for you.
Every medical question needs an answer before doctors and the rest of the medical team can proceed. Spending some time answering those questions now will save someone you love a lot of pain and agonize later when major decisions arise.
Changeable, Accessible Advanced Directive Service
Your advanced directives are not set in stone, and you can change them how and when you wish. The goal is to have them on file so that when you are in that position, your family has what they need and can present it to the medical team.
Our attorneys are ready and able to help you craft this plan and keep it available for your family when the time comes. Our care and high standards of service are relied on by clients across the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan area. Call us at 281-524-6979 or send an email using this form.