The Importance of Health Care Powers of Attorney

By
October 21, 2020

Our Estate Planning Team continues to honor National Estate Planning Awareness Week with their second vlog post.  Attorney Kayla Murphy educates viewers on what a health care power of attorney is, what their responsibilities are, and why it’s important you have this document drafted.

Video Transcript:

My name is Kayla Murphy and I’m an attorney on the Estate Planning Team at Ruder Ware. And today I’m going to talk about the power of attorney for health care. This is a document that allows you to name agents who would make health care decisions for you if you are unable to do so yourself. It also allows you to give guidance to those agents regarding your wishes for end of life care and other medical decisions that the agent may be making. The document would become effective upon certification of your incapacity by two health care professionals. In other words, two health care professionals would sign off saying that you are incapable of making health care decisions for yourself.

The authority that an agent has under a power of attorney can range from small tasks such as prescription medication management to huge decisions, such as withholding feeding tubes and decisions regarding end of life care. The power of attorney also allows you to specify your wishes regarding organ donation. A power of attorney can be executed by adults aged 18 or older. It is not a document that is just for the elderly as health issues of course can arise at any age. You can contact an attorney on Ruder Ware’s Estate Planning Team to draft a customized power of attorney that fits your unique circumstances.

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