Medical Power of Attorney

Every basic estate plan should include a Medical Power of Attorney along with a Medical Directive to Physicians (“Living Will”). A Medical Power of Attorney is a legal document in which you (the “principal”) designate another person (the “agent”) to make health care decisions for you should you be unable to do so yourself. A Medical Power is not to be confused with a Property Power of Attorney in which you give another person the authority to make financial decisions on your behalf, another important estate planning document.

The Medical Power is a document which should be executed in addition to a Living Will. A Living Will is a document in which you direct health care providers to withhold or withdraw specified medical treatments should you be in an end stage or irreversible terminal condition. The Medical Power is more general in that it applies to more than the specified treatments and applies whether or not you are terminal.

Your Medical Power becomes effective when your physician certifies that you are incompetent to make your own medical decisions and lasts until you become competent. It applies to most decisions with the notable exception of commitment to a mental institution. With respect to the decisions made in your living will, you should specify in either or both documents whether you require your agent to follow your living will instructions or whether they are for your agent’s guidance only.

You can designate any competent adult, with the exception of your health care provider, as your medical agent. If your designated agent is either elderly or not local, you may want to designate a co-agent or alternative agent. In such a case, be sure to delineate their respective responsibilities.

Health care providers (physicians, hospitals, nursing homes, nurses and even physical therapists) will gladly provide you certainly with a Living Will and maybe a Medical Power of Attorney. These documents are also readily available on the internet. If you engage an attorney to plan your estate, he or she will also provide you with these documents.