Planning for Incapacity:
To help you make informed decisions about medical care, a health care provider must provide information about your medical condition, the risks and benefits of proposed treatment, and alternate forms of treatment. You have the right to choose or refuse medical care any time a significant change in your treatment is proposed. Unless you have specified otherwise, the following people, in the order listed, make the decisions about your treatment if your cannot consent or refuse.
1. A court-appointed guardian with authority to make health care decisions, if any.
2. A person to whom you have given a durable power of attorney with the power to make health care decision, if any.
3. Your spouse.
4. Your adult children.
5. Your parents
6. Adult siblings
- A Health Care Directive - also known as a Living Will, directs your doctor to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment only if you are in a terminal or permanent unconscious condition.
- A CPR Directive - tells the health care provider whether you want cardio-pulmonary resuscitation if your heart stops or you stop breathing. A health care facility must do CPR unless you have signed a directive telling them not to.
- A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care - empowers the person of your choice, your "agent" to make health care decisions if you are unable to do so. It can be effective immediately, or can become effective upon your incapacity. it can give specific or broad powers. It should also instruct your agent regarding how to apply your Health Care Directive (Living Will).
- A General Durable Power of Attorney - empowers a person of your choice, your "agent" to make decisions regarding your property. Like the Durable Power of Attorney for health Care, it can take effect immediately or upon your incapacity, and it can be broad or specific.
- Guardianship - may be necessary if you have no valid health care directive or power of attorney. Guardianship is a legal proceeding in which a person asks the court to appoint a guardian for you. The court will appoint an investigator (guardian ad litem), and a hearing will be held to determine whether you are incapacitated and who your guardian should be. Guardianship may be over your person, your estate, or both.
Source: WSAB.org
