What is The Job of a Healthcare Surrogate Attorney?
At some point in your life, you may become incapacitated and be unable to make your own healthcare decisions. However, you may have always known what type of care you’d want and what you would do in certain medical situations. A healthcare surrogate can support you when you are unable to communicate. Healthcare surrogates should be individuals who are not only trusted to represent you but also competent enough to advocate for you when you cannot. The goal is always to have your best interests and your personal wishes in mind so that when you need medical care, you get what you want regardless of whether you can ask for it yourself or not.
Why a Healthcare Surrogate Attorney Can Be Helpful
End-of-life planning is an essential part of estate planning. It is inevitable that we will all get older and that we can suffer health conditions that render us unable to speak for ourselves. Yet, even in such a dire situation, it is understandable that one may still want to maintain control over their health despite being unable to use their own words.
Making sure that your desires for your care are met is critical. As a result, it is incredibly important to choose the right individual to serve as your healthcare surrogate. Additionally, it is equally important to have all of the right paperwork in place to make sure there are no issues should the time arise. An attorney can help you meet both of these objectives.
A healthcare surrogate attorney can explain what to look for in a healthcare surrogate. For example, you will want to choose someone who is honest and reliable, who can be available when you need them, and who can handle the stress that exists in such a situation. Once that person is chosen, your attorney can put together your healthcare power of attorney documents. These legal documents are necessary so that the named individual actually has the authority and right to make healthcare decisions on your behalf. If you do not have a healthcare power of attorney in place, then the individual you name cannot make decisions for you.
It is vital that your healthcare surrogate clearly and thoroughly understands what your healthcare wishes are. While you are incapacitated, they will make your healthcare decisions. This is usually only as long as it is expected that you can come out of your condition and become cognizant again. However, if it can reasonably be believed that you will be permanently incapacitated, your advanced directive, or your living will, will be the way that your healthcare will be managed.
Speak to a Connecticut Healthcare Surrogate Attorney Today
Of all of the types of planning one does for the future, end-of-life planning is usually not the most exciting or fun. However, it is very important that certain aspects of life be addressed and cemented because doing so will not only respect your own wishes and give you more stability but will also help your loved ones honor you by taking the guesswork out of what needs to be done.
If you would like to speak with a Connecticut estate planning attorney, please call The Law Office of Brian S. Karpe today at 860-217-1458. You may schedule a free consultation to go over your goals and needs.
