Living Wills in Fairfax
A living will typically refers to a medical power of attorney, and the living will clearly expresses a person’s wishes when it comes to end-of-life issues such as what their burial wishes are and how they want medical treatment administered. A living will is active when signed, but not used until the signer loses the ability to communicate their own health care decisions.
Historically, a living will, advanced directive, and medical power of attorney were separate documents. For most estate planners today, the three documents have been combined into one. The document waives HIPAA and appoints an agent to make medical decisions when someone can no longer make health care decisions for themselves. The document can also include wishes for organ donation.
If you need legal advice about living wills in Fairfax or assistance drafting one, reach out to a qualified trusts and estates attorney. They could guide you through the process and help make sure your wishes are followed.
Types of Decisions Addressed in Living Wills
There are several decisions addressed in a living will. The first, and most important, is the nomination of an agent to make health care decisions for the signer when the individual can no longer express their own wishes. In addition to the nomination of a health care agent, the document also includes the individual’s wishes for the administration of life support, nutrition, and hydration in the event that the signer is in a permanent vegetative state or a condition with no reasonable hope for recovery. The document can also include wishes for cremation or burial, and organ donation. For some women, the document includes provisions surrounding pregnancy.
Impact of Advice From Medical Professionals
The advice of medical professionals is often consulted, but only to the extent that it does not specifically violate any of the provisions of the living will. For instance, in the event that an individual expresses that if they are in a permanent vegetative state, they would like life support to be withdrawn. The decision to withdraw life support may not be automatic; rather, the health care agent may ask the advice of doctors before making the decision to withdraw life support.
Temporarily incapacitated means that at that current time an individual is not able to communicate their wishes, but they may be able to do so in the future. Permanently incapacitated means they are in a condition where there is no reasonable hope of recovering sufficient capacity. An example would be a coma that they have been in for weeks or months which a medical professional has deemed that there is no reasonable hope that they would recover.
When to Begin Working on a Living Will
A person should start thinking about creating a living will at any point in time. Often, people start to think about it when they are experiencing issues with their own friends and family members. They start to think about themselves and how they need to get their own affairs in order, but there is no time that is too early to start thinking about these wishes and who they would name as a healthcare agent, if they need one someday.
Sadly, attorneys often receive requests from family members after a loved one has had a stroke. After a catastrophic event, a living will may be needed, but a lawyer cannot assist with the creation because the individual has lost the capacity to sign the document.
Role of Living Wills in the Estate Planning Process
A living will is an important part of the estate-planning process, but it is just one piece. When someone works on their estate plan, they typically are drafting a will which expresses their wishes for what happens to their assets at their death and who will serve as executor, the person who represents the state, when they die. In order to make an estate plan complete, they also will most likely complete both a durable power of attorney for financial purposes and a power of attorney for medical purposes.
For the most part, a living will is no longer valid once a person dies. If the document expresses wishes for death-related issues, such as burial or organ donation, then the document can be referred to. Otherwise, the healthcare agent who is named in the living will no longer has authority to act on that person’s behalf.
Revocation of Living Wills
A person can revoke a living will at any time and for any reason. There are no specifics that a person has to have in order to revoke their living will. If they want to execute a new will because they want to name different people or they have had different thoughts or feelings about how they want their medical treatment to be administered or decisions relating to burial or organ donation, they can revoke their living will and create a new one at any time.
Contact a Fairfax Wills Attorney for Assistance
If you need help creating or understand living wills in Fairfax, reach out to a qualified attorney for assistance. They could guide you through the entire estate planning process to ensure your wishes are followed if you become incapacitated. Call today to schedule a consultation.