Protecting Estates.
Protecting Legacies.

What decisions can an advance directive cover?

When creating your estate plan, it is important to include documents that not only cover what happens after your death but also your end-of-life plans.  You may end up in a situation where you need care but cannot make decisions for yourself.  Luckily, there are legal steps you can take to plan for this.

U.S. News and World Report explains you should create an advance directive.  This document allows you to dictate the medical care you would like to receive if you suffer a severe illness or injury that makes you unable to communicate your desires.

Options

Using an advance directive, you can assign someone to make decisions for you.  You can also explain what types of medical care you would like to receive and specify things you do not want to happen.

An advance directive will also allow you to plan end-of-life care. This might include ensuring you can donate organs, not keeping your life support, giving a do not resuscitate order or other similar requests.

Importance

Creating an advance directive allows you to stay in control even if you mentally cannot do it at the moment.  It will also take the burden off your family because you already made the decisions for yourself.  They will just have to follow your instructions.  This can be especially helpful if you’re in a situation where a decision must be made about life support.

You can create an advance directive as part of your estate plan. Doing this will help ensure it is done legally and that it can go into place when needed.

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