Taking Care of Personal Needs: Planning for Incapacity

• Medical Decisions:
  • Writing down your wishes for medical care and choosing a trusted person to ensure that those wishes are carried out ca take that enormous burden off your family in making agonizing medical decisions on your behalf. You can do this by preparing a Healthcare Directive
    • Heathcare Directive: There are two necessary parts, a declaration and a adurable power of attorney for healthcare.
      • Declaration/or a "Living Will"
        • This is a written statement which spells out the medical care you do or do not wish to receive if you become incapacitated. Your declaration becomes a contract with your treating doctor, who must honor your wishes or transfer care to another doctor who will.
      • Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare:
        • This document will allow you to appoint someone you trust to ensure that your doctors give you the kind of medical care you wish to receive.
  
  
• Financial Decisions:
  • Durable Power of Attorney for Finances:
    • Appointing a Durable Power of Attorney for finances allows you to name someone you trust to handle your finances if you are unable to do so. You can be a specific as you want in regards to financial actions you do and do not wish for this person to take. The person appointed has only the financial authority that you grant him or her in the document.
  
  
• Final Arrangement Documents:
  • You can write out a statement to your family what type of arrangements or ceremony you would like to have. Do not include this statement in your will because most likely the will won't be read until weeks or months after such a statement will be helpful. Instead, place the document where it can be readily accessible at your death by those who will carry out your wishes.
  • Specifying in a document your last wishes will help your family in making decisions during a difficult time.
  • Advance planning of funeral arrangements and related costs can also save your family money.

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