When Should You Prepare Living Will Advance Directives?
- A living will, sometimes known as a do-not-resuscitate order, is a document in which you express your intentions about medical interventions you will receive in end-of-life situations, in case you are unconscious or unable to express them yourself. Living wills can be very detailed and specific.
- A health-care power of attorney, alternatively called a "durable power of attorney for health care" or a "health-care proxy", is a document in which you grant someone else the right to make health-care decisions for you, or make sure your expressed wishes are carried out, should you be unable to do it yourself. The document designates a person or persons as your health-care agent, known as an "attorney-in-fact", and allows physicians to rely on that person's directions as if they were your own. You can use such a document in conjunction with a living will, or on its own.
- You can create an advance directive at any time, in keeping with your state's requirements. Typically, you must be at least 18 years old or an emancipated minor, and of sound mind. While many people create these documents as they approach retirement or old age, it's a fact that sudden illness or injury can strike at any time. It can turn out to be beneficial to have these documents prepared, even though you do not anticipate needing them for a long time.
- You are the only person who can prepare and use an advance directive on your own behalf. However, you can help other people -- such as spouses, parents or other family members -- to prepare their own advance directives. For example, if your parents want to use durable powers of attorney for health care and name you as attorney-in-fact, you can help them by making sure you understand what their wishes are, and that the document is properly drafted in accordance with the laws of your state.