Advance Directives for Health Care
In terms of estate planning and healthcare, you need two essential documents: a living will and a healthcare proxy. These documents are collectively known as advance directives, but each serves its own purpose.
The living will refers to your wishes for end-of-life care. For instance, do you want to be resuscitated in case your heart stops? Do you want doctors to use a feeding tube or a ventilator to keep you alive? It might be difficult to think about these issues but in the absence of a living will, doctors are forced to do take exceptional measures (sometimes unwanted ones) to save your life.
A health care proxy, on the other hand, offers someone the power to make medical decisions on your behalf, in case you are unable to make them for yourself. Keeping these documents in an inaccessible safe deposit box won’t do you much good. Make sure all your health care providers, family members, and health care POA have access to copies of these documents.
It is always prudent to be prepared for any and all eventualities before that inevitable journey into the great beyond.
