There is no way to predict the future, but there are ways to prepare for it. That’s why it is so important to work with your parents and their attorney to create a series of legally binding guidelines called advanced directives.
Advanced directives are straightforward. While a will ensures that your parents’ wishes are observed after their death, advanced directives, on the other hand, ensure that their desires are followed while they are alive in the event that they are unable to make their preferences known.
Here are some advanced directives that your family should consider:
• A durable power of attorney. This document allows another person to act on your loved one’s behalf in certain legal and business matters. It remains in effect even when they are incapacitated.
• A medical durable power of attorney. This advanced directive allows your loved one to appoint someone to make health care decisions for them if they are unable to make these decisions themselves. The person appointed follows the person’s wishes if they are known and, if they are not, makes decisions based on his or her best assumptions of the person’s wishes.
• A living will. This document specifies the treatments that your loved one wants, as well as the treatments that they wish to avoid, as in the case of a terminal illness or injury, if they are unable to make their own decisions.
Advanced directives can spare a family great heartache and regret, but they can only be drawn up when seniors are able to communicate their decisions, desires, and wishes. If they haven’t already done so, help your aging relatives prepare advanced directives now.
