A healthcare directive tells your family and doctors what you want when you cannot speak for yourself. It removes one of the hardest decisions from the people you love most at the moment they are least equipped to make it.
Schedule a ConsultationA healthcare directive, sometimes called a living will or advance directive, documents your wishes regarding medical treatment in situations where you are incapacitated and cannot communicate. It tells your doctors and family whether you want life-sustaining treatment continued or withdrawn in an end-of-life situation, and under what circumstances.
Without one, those decisions fall to your family. That is a significant burden to place on people who are already dealing with a medical crisis and who may disagree with each other about what you would have wanted.
These two documents work together but serve different purposes. A healthcare directive states your wishes. A healthcare power of attorney designates a person to make medical decisions on your behalf. Both are part of a complete estate plan, and both matter.
The directive guides decisions when your wishes are clear. The healthcare POA covers situations the directive does not anticipate, giving a trusted person the authority to make judgment calls consistent with what they know about you.
Colorado has specific statutory requirements for healthcare directives. A document that does not meet those requirements may not be honored by a hospital or medical provider when it matters most.
A healthcare directive works best as part of a complete set of estate planning documents: the directive, a healthcare power of attorney, a durable financial power of attorney, and a will or trust. Together these cover both what happens after death and what happens during incapacity.
Hoog Law drafts healthcare directives for individuals and families throughout Longmont and Boulder County as part of a complete estate plan or as standalone documents.
Hoog Law drafts healthcare directives and complete estate plans for individuals and families in Longmont and Boulder County.
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