Adnced Directives: The Oxygen Mask Protecting You While You Live

             A very confused person came to my office recently and said something like, “I’m about to have surgery, and somebody at the hospital said I need something called an Advance Directive and a lawyer should write this document for me. I’m not sure what it is but they said I need it.”

             This article explains what Advance Directives (also called Powers-of-Attorney) are and why they are important, especially now when everyone’s health is at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What They Are

             There are two main types of Advance Directives: one type is about your money and property, and the other is about your medical treatment. When properly created according to certain legal rules, they allow someone that you choose (your agent) to act for you and make decisions about financial issues and health care. You can choose whether or not you want these directives to become effective immediately or only if and when you are unable to understand and communicate your own decisions.

Why You Need Them

             We all want to believe we’re in control of our lives all the time. Most of the time, we are; we make decisions, like spending money or going to the doctor, without even thinking about them very much.

             But what if suddenly, because of a serious illness for instance, you’re unable to decide these things for yourself? Who will do that for you?

             You might ask:  “Can’t my husband/wife/daughter step in and act for me? Why do I need a special document with a weird name?”

             As strange as it might seem, the need for these special documents is the law’s way of protecting your individual rights. Your financial and health care interests depend on personal choices.

             It is not necessary that your agent be a family member, although that is often what happens.  Since your financial and medical choices are personal to you, picking the “right person” is more about people in your life who make decisions that align with your values and beliefs than it is about who is close to you in your family tree.

 Attorneys who place an emphasis on relationships when assisting clients, such as myself, will often ask questions that get a little personal. For example, we may ask you things like, “Whom would you trust to be by your side after a car accident?” or “Who do you know who is financially responsible and trustworthy?”  Answers to these questions are important because they can help you gain clarity about people in your life whom you trust and respect.

             Simply put, Advance Directives protect you, as if they were an oxygen mask on an airplane giving you air to breathe.  These documents don’t give you air to breathe, obviously. Yet if you pick the right person to be your agent, you can be secure in the knowledge that this person will make decisions about your finances and health care that are similar to those that you would make if you could make those decisions yourself.