Bonita Springs Estate Planning Lawyer Explores Health Care Proxies
A health care proxy is an extremely important document. Every Bonita Springs resident should have it on file with their estate planning lawyer. It is a document that most people do not start hearing about until they either get older or experience a serious medical situation. However, it is something everyone should have.
What Is A Health Care Proxy?
If you should become incapacitated and unable to speak for yourself, the person you have named your health care proxy will be able to speak for you. This also applies to situations where you can speak but your judgment is being affected by a medical condition or trauma to the brain.
What Can A Health Care Proxy Do?
A health care proxy speaks on your behalf to medical professionals of all types. The health care proxy listens to medical data and options presented by doctors. They then make a decision about your treatment for you.
What Can’t A Health Care Proxy Do?
Health care proxies can only make decisions regarding medical issues. Even in that arena, the health care proxy could be limited in the type of decisions they can make based on how the health care proxy document is set up. The health care proxy cannot make decisions about your finances, real estate, or anything else to do with your estate.
Who Should Be My Health Care Proxy?
It is important to choose someone you trust with your very life to be your health care proxy. You should not base your decision on someone’s status in your life. It should be based on your ability to trust the decisions they would make regarding your health.
Can Anything Override A Health Care Proxy?
If you have a living will in place that outlines your wishes when it comes to your medical treatment, then that document would take precedent over a health care proxy. The problem is that living wills are usually vague in most areas of medical treatment, which makes a health care proxy necessary.
Should I Update My Health Care Proxy?
The person you choose to be your health care proxy should be someone you trust to make important decisions regarding your health at critical moments. Does the health care proxy you have in place make you feel comfortable? If not, then you should have it changed immediately.
Our estate planning professionals can help you to set up a health care proxy that represents your personal needs. We will explain the importance of a health care proxy to you. You will be walked through the process of putting a proxy together. We can also help you update your proxy if you feel that is something you would like to do. Contact us today to get the process started with one of our Bonita Springs Estate Planning Attorney.