Understanding Advanced Care Planning and Why it is Important
No one wants to think about the end of life. But it is an eventuality that we all face. It is impossible to know what one’s circumstances will be at the end of life, which is where advanced care planning comes into play. Advanced care planning gives you the opportunity to map out your wishes and the decisions you would make related to your healthcare.
The reason that it is imperative that advanced care planning is done is that should an emergency happen or a situation where you are incapacitated at the end of life, it is not enough to count on your loved ones to know what you would want to be done in a particular situation. The reality is that even the closest loved ones may not truly understand what you would do in various medical scenarios enough to speak on your behalf if you can not do so for yourself.
Advanced care planning allows you to discuss with your loved ones what type of care and medical treatment you would want in the future should decisions on your behalf need to be made. Then, these discussions should turn into a solid plan that can help guide loved ones on the right course of action for you. This is especially helpful when the emotions are high in an end-of-life situation where your loved ones want to make sure they are making decisions precisely as you would have done on your own if you could.
Creating legal documents called advanced directives is how you can put your plan in place. If you live in Connecticut, then you can have help with this by meeting with a Canton advanced directive lawyer at the Law Office of Brian S. Karpe.
Advanced directives are documents you can complete with the instructions for the medical treatment you want in various situations. They are only active when you are unable to communicate on your own. Two common types of advanced directives are used:
Living Will
A living will can indicate what treatment you’d want and which you would not want and the circumstances under which your decisions would be made. For example, if you don’t want to be on a ventilator, you can use a Do Not Intubate (DNI) order to instruct medical staff to keep you off a ventilator.
Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care
A durable power of attorney for health care is a person that you choose and name as your health care proxy. This individual will act as your representative and will see through your wishes on your behalf. Sometimes, a proxy is used alone and without a will. Though to be sure that what you want to happen is clear, it can be helpful to have both a proxy and a living will in place.
Speak to a Connecticut Advanced Care Planning Attorney Today
Should an unexpected event happen, advanced directives provide instructions for your loved ones to follow that will help them respect your wishes.
For more help on advanced directives and advanced care planning, please reach out to and call the Connecticut advanced care planning attorney at the Law Office of Brian S. Karpe to schedule a free consultation at 860-217-1458.
