You may not have thought about what life-prolonging procedures you want in case of a serious accident, or who will pay your rent if you are in a Colorado hospital and unable to take care of your own affairs.
At The Law Firm of Bruce A. Danford, LLC, we often help people to create powers of attorney that identify who will manage things on their behalf if they become incapacitated.
General power of attorney
A general power of attorney is a legal document that identifies what financial transactions you will need someone to take care of for you and under what circumstances you need that individual to step in. You can designate a person or entity to perform various services for you.
Medical power of attorney
A medical power of attorney names a health care proxy who will speak to the doctors on your behalf and make your medical decisions for you while you are incapacitated. As you can imagine, it is essential to choose a person you trust explicitly.
Make sure to have a serious discussion with this person, not only about the choices you would make, but also about your beliefs and philosophies regarding your health care. That way, he or she will be able to address situations that you may not have anticipated.
Living will
In addition to naming a person to speak for you, you can also create a living will that identifies some specific procedures you want or do not want. For example, you may not want to be intubated or kept on a breathing machine, or you may want to be resuscitated if your heart stops.
More information about powers of attorney and other estate planning directives is available on our webpage.