As we get older, we can plan for the possibility that we might not always be able to make our own health care decisions. A Health Care Directive gives a person the power to make health-care decisions for you if you become incapacitated. It also sets out specific frameworks for what you want to have happen.
When considering a Health Care Directive in St. Cloud, Minnesota, it is important to think through questions like whether you want extraordinary life-sustaining care if you are dying, and to talk those decisions through with your lawyer.
A Health Care Directive lets you avoid a situation where someone must go to court to obtain a guardianship over you. It names an agent and gives them power to make health-care decisions for you, if you’re incapacitated. You should pick someone you trust completely–someone with good morals and good judgment–to make your health-care decisions. With Health Care Directives, it is even more important to get the right people in place than it is to get the right documents in place.
Health Care Directives must be written, signed, and witnessed correctly to be valid under Minnesota law. Your witnesses should not be family members or anyone who has a financial obligation for your support or who would inherit from you.
It is best to execute a single copy of your Health Care Directive and make copies as necessary. Keep your original in a secure place with your other estate planning papers. Provide your physician with an electronic copy of your Health Care Directive, to include in your medical records. It is good practice to keep a copy on your cell phone, for easy access in case of emergency.
You can change your mind after executing a Health Care Directive by destroying the original and retrieving any copies.
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