Healthcare planning requires attention to detail and emotional resilience. Ensuring that your healthcare wishes receive proper attention forms an integral part of personal well-being and estate planning. Facing unforeseen medical circumstances with a clear, legally binding outline of your preferences offers peace of mind for both you and your loved ones. This approach helps prevent unnecessary stress and confusion during trying times.
Types of Healthcare Wishes
Healthcare wishes are highly personal and cover a wide range of considerations, from the medical treatments you prefer or wish to avoid, to appointing individuals to make decisions on your behalf if needed. These wishes extend beyond end-of-life care to include preferences for ongoing treatments, recovery processes, and quality-of-life factors that matter to you.
Advance Directive
Creating an advance directive is a significant step in healthcare planning. This legal document includes a living will, specifying the medical treatments and life-sustaining measures you desire or reject, and a durable power of attorney for healthcare, which appoints a trusted individual to make medical decisions for you. Articulating your desires ensures that healthcare providers and loved ones understand and respect your choices.
Healthcare Proxies
A healthcare proxy is a legal document that allows you to appoint someone you trust to make medical decisions for you if you become incapacitated. This person, known as your healthcare agent, will have the authority to follow your healthcare wishes as specified in your advance directive. Choosing a healthcare proxy requires careful thought, as this person will play a key role in ensuring your medical preferences are met during critical times.
Discuss your values, beliefs, and specific medical treatments with your chosen healthcare agent. Providing clear instructions and discussing possible scenarios helps your healthcare proxy make informed decisions that match your wishes.
Living Wills
A living will is an important part of an advance directive. This document outlines your preferences for medical treatment when you cannot communicate your decisions. Unlike a healthcare proxy, which appoints someone to make decisions for you, a living will specifies your wishes regarding life-sustaining treatments, such as mechanical ventilation, artificial nutrition, and hydration.
Do Not Resuscitate Orders
A Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order instructs healthcare providers not to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if your heart stops or you stop breathing. This order ensures your healthcare wishes are respected, particularly if you have a terminal illness or serious medical conditions where resuscitation may not match your desired quality of life.
Do Not Intubate Orders
A Do Not Intubate (DNI) order, similar to a DNR order, specifically addresses the use of intubation and mechanical ventilation. With a DNI order, healthcare providers will not insert a breathing tube or use a ventilator if you cannot breathe on your own. This order is especially relevant for individuals with advanced respiratory diseases or conditions where mechanical ventilation may not align with their healthcare wishes.
Important Part of Estate Planning
Integrate healthcare planning with your broader estate planning efforts. Estate planning typically addresses asset management and distribution, but aligning your healthcare decisions with your overall life goals and values is equally important. Ensure financial resources support your healthcare preferences and specify the management of certain estate aspects in the event of prolonged illness or incapacitation.
Maintain Open Communication with Key Family Members
Communication plays a key role in this process. Open, honest discussions with family, healthcare providers, and legal advisors help ensure that everyone understands and is prepared to honor your wishes. Regularly review and update your advance directives and estate planning documents to keep them aligned with your current preferences and circumstances.
Contact a Chicago Estate Planning Attorney Today
Taking these thoughtful steps enables you to create a comprehensive healthcare plan that respects your wishes and offers security for you and your loved ones. Call James C. Provenza & Associates, P.C. at (847) 729-3939 to schedule a free estate planning consultation.
