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WHY WOULD I NEED
A POWER OF ATTORNEY?
Health Care Power of Attorney
Remember Terri Schiavo? At
the age of 27, Terri suffered a heart attack
that deprived
 her
brain of oxygen for five minutes, damaging it
severely and leaving her in a “persistent
vegetative
state”.
For the next fifteen years she was at the mercy
of others who made health-care decisions for
her.
By now most of America is familiar with the
tragic events of Terri Schiavo’s life. No matter
how you feel about the moral and political
issues that have arisen, most of us would agree
that we would not want our families to suffer
through the 15-year ordeal that Terri and her
family endured. Fortunately, there is a way for
each American to plan what kinds of medical
decisions will or will not be carried out during
any temporary incapacity or at the end-of-life.
Do you want to make sure you have the
final say in your life?
A “Life Planning” document called a Health Care
Power of Attorney (also known as a Living Will
or Advanced Health Care Directive) allows you to
execute a writing detailing what kinds of health
care or life sustaining procedures you do, or do
not want, in the event that you are temporarily
incapacitated or at the end-of-life. Proper
estate planning in California includes a health
care power of attorney called an Advanced
Health Care Directive.
Through an Advanced Health Care Directive
(a.k.a. Health Care Power of Attorney, Living
Will) you will implement legal options that
can prevent family turmoil. The Health Care
Power of Attorney allows you to give legal
authority to another person (such as your
spouse, sibling or adult child) to make any
health care decision for you IF you
become unable, due to injury or incapacity, to
make these decisions. This document also tells
doctors the kind of life sustaining procedures
you want and legally binds these doctors to
carry out your choices.
Financial
Power of Attorney
To retain control over your finances today,
tomorrow and in the future, a “Life Planning”
document called a Durable Power of Attorney
for Finances, allows you to nominate an
agent to act on your behalf, in case you become
incapacitated and unable to act. If you do not
execute a Durable Power of Attorney for
Finances, the court will “step-in” upon your
incapacity and nominate someone to act for you.
This “agent” signs for you and manages your
finances until you become well enough to manage
them yourself. There are many other uses for a
financial power of attorney. For example, if you
travel a lot, you may nominate an agent (located
in America) to act on your behalf, in case you
could not quickly execute necessary financial
decisions from another country.
As life changes, so do your choices. This is
why Estate Plan Reviews and Estate Plan Updates
are just as important, as creating an Estate
Plan, for you and your family.
(Estate Planning Quiz)
 Comprehensive Estate Planning
A comprehensive estate plan includes both a
Durable Power of Attorney for Finances and a
Health Care Power of Attorney (known as an
Advanced Health Care Directive in California). (A
Comprehensive Estate Plan)
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FAQs
