Health Care Proxy &  Living Will

We have found that even if clients have no other estate planning documents, they are still vitally concerned with having their health care wishes respected.  That’s where the Healthcare Proxy comes into play.  Most clients come to our office having heard of, and in some cases having already executed, some kind of a Healthcare Proxy, either one that they have printed off a website or one that they filled out before going into the hospital.  Although these forms ma serve short-term goals, a properly drafted Healthcare Proxy allows you to appoint another person to make decisions regarding your medical and end-of-life care, and it lays out in great detail what your agent’s rights and responsibilities are. A Health Care Proxy typically operates only if you are unable to communicate such decisions on your own, guaranteeing that you can make decisions for yourself for as long as possible.

A Living Will is a slightly different document.  While a Healthcare Proxy allows you to appoint an agent to make decisions for you, a Living Will makes your wishes clear and gives your agent guidance when it comes to end of life care.  In Massachusetts, a Living Will is merely guidance – when it comes down to it, your healthcare agent must make a decision about end of life care based on what he or she believes your wishes would be.  Although no estate planning document is “typical”, our Healthcare Proxies usually incorporate a Living Will.

The Healthcare Proxy is especially important if a disagreement arises among your family members regarding your medical treatment.  By executing a Healthcare Proxy, you ensure that decisions regarding your medical care will happen quickly and according to your actual wishes.

Finally, under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), hospitals and medical professionals cannot release your medical information to anyone other than yourself, including your spouse and children.  A modern Healthcare Proxy gives your medical professionals a release so that they may disclose medical information to your Healthcare Agent but older Healthcare Proxies may not have the appropriate HIPAA release, making it all the more important to review your old estate planning documents with an attorney to ensure that your Healthcare Proxy functions as it should.