A Durable power of attorney for healthcare is a very useful document, but so is the living will. Do you need both? What do they cover exactly? These matters can get extremely confusing once you delve into the subject. You would do best to contact an experienced estate attorney to address all your concerns and provide you important insights. Please note that the following text is presented for informational purposes only and is not meant to be construed as legal advice. If you’d like more information, feel free to get in touch with us and schedule your free, no-obligation, 30-minute consultation with a legal professional.

Durable power of attorney for healthcare

This document may grant as many or as few powers as you want. It’s a sort of advance healthcare directive. If you do not list any specific limitations in your durable power of attorney for healthcare, it will be assumed that you gave your agent comprehensive authority over medical decisions that should be made in your name when you cannot express your wishes yourself. These are the most common powers given:

• Allowing or refusing medical treatment (although exceptions apply to severe psychiatric treatments and terminations of pregnancy)
• Obtaining court authorization as necessary, if medical personnel do not honor your wishes about medical treatments or the authority of your agent
• Hiring or dismissing medical professionals
• Making decisions about medical institutions you should go to
• Visiting you even if no one else is allowed to
• Accessing medical records and personal information
• Allowing or refusing organ harvesting
• Authorizing an autopsy
• Overseeing the disposition of your body

Living will

A living will is a document that sets forth your wishes about what kind of treatment you would like to receive at your deathbed. This is a document in which you can specify the type of life-prolonging measures you would like to be taken if you become incapacitated and unable to communicate your wishes, like in the case of brain death, coma or terminal illness. This is what is generally accounted for in a living will:

• Life-prolonging medical care including blood transfusion, dialysis, respirators, drugs and surgery
• Do Not Resuscitate directive
• Life-prolonging food and water
• Pain management

Even if you decide that you do not want to be resuscitated nor artificially kept alive through life-prolonging measures, it still does not mean that you have to pass in pain. Your living will can specify what kind of palliative care you would like, so that you are comfortable and as free of pain as possible at the end of your life.

Differences in a nutshell

A living will covers your preferences about medical care you could receive at the end of your life. Living wills do not pertain to situations that affect your continued life, nor to conditions that are not life-threatening. Durable power of attorney for healthcare is a broader document and it covers all health care decisions that your agent can make in the case you become incapacitated.

Can you have both durable power of attorney for healthcare and a living will?

Yes, you can. These documents complement one another.

Get durable power of attorney for healthcare and living will through a reputable San Diego estate lawyer

If you research the topic a bit, you’ll notice that these documents, along with some others, can be obtained for free or for a certain fee on the Internet. We advise against such moves and you can read our post on why you should obtain power of attorney through a lawyer. The Law Offices of Irina Sherbak are here for you – don’t hesitate to book your free 30-min consultation and have your questions answered!