End of Life Care: Consider Executing A Living Will and Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care in Ohio Before It Is Too Late
Thoughts about the end of one’s life are not pleasant. However, failing to plan can leave you in a position which does not comport with your desires and can leave your family fighting over your best interests. Failing to prepare may be compounded by trying to take shortcuts. There are several sources of information available on the internet, some free and some for a small fee, which purport to comply with Ohio law.
Before you sign any document that purports to establish a living will, also known as an advanced directive, or a durable power of attorney for health care, you must consult a qualified, knowledgeable, and experienced Ohio estate planning lawyer like Shannon Dawes, Esq. from Dawes Legal, LLC. Columbus estate planning attorney Shannon Dawes will guide you through every step of the process of appointing a health care proxy, also known as a power of attorney for health care as well as establishing your advanced directives. You can rely on Attorney Dawes’ extensive knowledge of Ohio health care law and her compassion for her clients to help you make some of the most difficult decisions a person must make in life.
A living will and power of attorney for health care differ in their legal significance. Advanced directives give guidance to your family, physicians, and other health care personnel such as a nursing home concerning what resuscitative measures you want taken in the event you cannot speak for yourself any longer. Some people do not want extraordinary measures taken such as breathing tube, feeding tube, known as artificial life-saving measures. You can direct your agent under a durable power of attorney for health care to directing your physician not to administer potentially life-saving measures like CPR. Other people who are faced with a long-term or fatal illness could decline chemotherapy or other cancer treatments in their advanced directives.
Conversely, a health care proxy or power of attorney for health care comes into play after you no longer possess the ability to make decisions for yourself. The principal or the person executing a power of attorney for health care can designate it a durable power of attorney, meaing that the powers vested in the agent last until revoked, or a limited power of attorney. A limited power of attorney lasts until a specific event occurs.
Generally, powers of attorney for health care in Ohio are designed to be durable and not limited. Limiting the power of attorney can confuse and create unnecessary stress upon your family.
The living will in Ohio becomes effective when the principal is permanently unconscious or terminally ill. It is essential that your living will and your durable power of attorney for health care be consistent with each other. Ohio law directs physicians to acknowledge the living will and not the durable power of attorney for health care in terms of the documents conflict with each other.
Do Not Leave Your Family to Make Heartbreaking Decisions for You
Call Shannon Dawes, Esq. from Dawes Legal, LLC today at 614-733-9999 to schedule a consultation. Attorney Dawes and the staff from Dawes Legal, LLC will answer all of your questions and address all of your questions with the care, compassion, and dignity you and your family deserve.