If you think nothing could ever prevent you from communicating your wishes to your doctor regarding your treatment, think again. Unfortunately, unforeseeable situations happen more often than you would expect. You might end up in a coma, unable to speak, or on a life-support machine. Unless you have a Medical Power of Attorney, a doctor would have no way of knowing if you wanted medical treatment withdrawn.
Appointing an agent to make critical medical decisions in your place can help your family deal with an already stressful situation. A Medical Power of Attorney authorizes a person to make health-related decisions on your behalf. Also, choosing to hire a personal care assistant or selecting personal care management is within their power.
A Medical Power of Attorney is a legally binding document designating an agent to make health-related decisions on your behalf. Many people have strong opinions on how they want to be treated, which may or may not result from religious or moral beliefs. For their wishes to be respected, even when they’re unable to speak for themselves, there must be a person authorized to act for them.
Talking about potentially life-threatening scenarios is never easy. However, it’s necessary to think in advance to ensure that you get the best care possible that aligns with your wishes. Choosing a trusted person to be your agent is essential. After all, they are going to make tough medical decisions on your behalf. However, you don’t have to designate just one individual. You can have a Medical Power of Attorney for multiple persons.
Depending on your state, a Healthcare Power of Attorney may also be known as:
Advance Directive
Medical POA
Advance Healthcare Directive
Discussing potentially life-threatening situations, coma, and terminal illnesses aren’t something you do every day. However, in case something does happen, you don’t want your family members fighting over your treatment. Moreover, their wishes might not resonate with yours. Not only can this be stressful in an already terrible situation, but it could also end up in court.
To prevent this from happening, every adult should have a Medical Power of Attorney. This will ensure an individual makes the right medical decisions if you are unable to do so yourself.
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If you’re considering getting a Medical Power of Attorney, there isn’t an easier way than getting it with 360 Legal Forms. With our extensive library of attorney-vetted legal forms, you can quickly find what you need. After that, fill out the required information, and our form generator will create a Medical Power of Attorney for you within a couple of seconds.
Once you have an online document, you can save it as a PDF or a Word File and keep it somewhere safe.
To create your document, please provide:
Personal Information: We need your full name, address, date of birth, and phone number.
Effective Date: The date when you want this document to become valid.
Healthcare Agent Information: A full name, date of birth, address, and phone number of the person you are appointing.
Location of Origin: A place where a Medical Power of Attorney will be stored.
Term: A period you want this Medical Power of Attorney to be effective.
Limitations on the Health Care Agent’s Authority: You can also decide which decisions an agent should make. If there are some you don’t want, you should state it in a document.
Witness: A person who can be present while you and an agent are signing a Medical Power of Attorney
Healthcare Proxy: Another term for a Medical Power of Attorney
Both you and an agent must sign a Medical Power of Attorney. If you choose multiple agents, all of them need to sign their specific document. Note that some states require a witness to be present. This should be a person who is at least 18 years old. Finally, notarizing the document isn’t necessary. It’s better if you do so because it makes your Medical Power of Attorney more effective.
When you make a Medical Power of Attorney with 360 Legal Forms, you can download as many copies as you want. Make sure you and your agents have one each. Whenever you visit a healthcare facility, bring a copy with you.
A witness must be a person who is at least 18 years old. Generally, they cannot be your agent, your spouse, a relative, or a doctor. But different States have different requirements for who can be a witness.
Your Medical Power of Attorney can last as long as you want it to. You may revoke it when you want and select a new agent. This often happens if there’s a divorce or a legal separation.
No matter who makes medical decisions, you still must pay your medical bills. Therefore, an agent is just an individual making decisions, not a person also responsible for the bills.
Both documents empower specific individuals to make decisions on your behalf. However, the main difference is that a Medical Power of Attorney focuses on health-related decisions. On the other hand, a Financial Power of Attorney appoints an agent to make financial decisions. They usually pay your bills if you’re unable to do it yourself and handle your overall finances.
This depends on you. Some people prefer one individual to be their agent, while others want to have multiple agents if the main one can’t be reached. Keep in mind that if you want to have multiple agents, you also need a Medical Power of Attorney for each of them. However, be sure to get enough forms from our website and include the required information for each agent. After that, download them, and copy them so that all agents can have their documents. You should also have copies of all of them yoursel
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