Medical Power of Attorney in McKinney, TX

The Importance of a Loved One's Advance Care Planning

It's never easy to consider what will happen to a loved one when they are too sick or injured to communicate their wishes to a medical team. This is why advance care planning is so important. By writing a medical power of attorney, a person can appoint someone they trust to make important medical decisions for them in the event that they are unable to do so.

This trusted individual is called a medical power of attorney, and they can make decisions about everything from hospitalization to end-of-life care. The best way to ensure that a person's wishes are respected is to obtain a medical power of attorney. This document allows a person to appoint someone they trust to make decisions for them when they are unable to do so.

Contact our McKinney, TX estate planning attorneys at today to set up an initial consultation.

Who Should Be Appointed as a Medical Power of Attorney?

A medical POA should be someone who is well-acquainted with the person's wishes, values, and beliefs. This person should also be someone who is available to make decisions for the person at all times.

It is also important to choose a person who is not likely to be biased. For example, a person's spouse should not be appointed as their medical power of attorney because they are likely to be biased in favor of certain medical decisions. This is why it is so important to choose a person who is well-acquainted with the person's wishes, values, and beliefs.

What Can a Medical Power of Attorney Do?

Some of the things a medical power of attorney can do include:

• Deciding whether or not the person should be hospitalized
• Deciding what type of medical care the person should receive
• Deciding whether or not the person should be taken off life support
• Deciding whether or not the person should be resuscitated

What Happens if Someone Does Not Have a Medical Power of Attorney?

If a person does not have a power of attorney, the decision to take them off life support or to perform medical procedures such as CPR will be decided by a judge. This can be very problematic because judges do not always make the same decisions that a person would have made for themselves. For this reason, it is so important to obtain a medical power of attorney.

How Does a Medical Power of Attorney Differ from a Living Will?

A medical power of attorney is different from a living will because a living will only deals with end-of-life care. A living will outline the type of end-of-life care a person would like to receive, such as whether or not they would like to be on life support. A living will does not authorize someone to make decisions for the person who wrote it. A living will is not as comprehensive as a medical power of attorney.

Our McKinney estate planning attorneys can help a person decide whether to write a medical power of attorney or a living will. A medical power of attorney is more comprehensive and allows a person to appoint someone they trust to make important medical decisions for them in the event that they are unable to do so.

Call (214) 499-9647 or contact us online to set up an initial consultation with our McKinney medical POA attorneys.