Estate planning is more than just deciding what happens to your assets after your death. A good estate plan will also contain your instructions for how decisions about your health, wealth, and legal responsibilities should be made in the event you aren't able to make those decisions yourself.

Creating powers of attorney, also called advance directives, is an essential aspect of comprehensive estate planning.

The Benefits of Advance Directives

Advance Directives

A living will is a written document that allows individuals to specify their preferences regarding medical treatment and end-of-life care if they are unable to communicate their wishes. In a living will, individuals can outline the types of medical interventions they do or do not want to receive, such as life-sustaining treatments, artificial nutrition and hydration, and palliative care. Living wills provide guidance to healthcare providers and family members about the individual's preferences for care in situations where they are terminally ill, permanently unconscious, or in an end-stage condition.

It is important to understand that directives a principal places in a living will are going to be honored before instructions from a health care agent. Essentially, the living will "trumps" the power of attorney. Thus, a principal should only put directives down in a living will if they are absolutely certain they do or do not want to receive a specific type of treatment. 

A healthcare power of attorney, also known as a healthcare proxy or durable power of attorney for healthcare, is a legal document that allows individuals to appoint a trusted person, known as a healthcare agent or surrogate, to make healthcare decisions on their behalf if they become incapacitated. The healthcare agent is authorized to make medical decisions consistent with the individual's wishes and values, as expressed in the document. Healthcare powers of attorney are flexible and can cover a wide range of medical decisions, including treatment options, surgeries, medications, and end-of-life care.

In Ohio, advance directives must be signed by the individual making the directives (the principal) freely and purposely. Generally, the document is signed in the presence of a notary public.

It's important for individuals to discuss their healthcare preferences with their healthcare agent and loved ones and to provide copies of their advance directives to their healthcare providers and hospitals. Advance directives should be periodically reviewed and updated to reflect any changes in the individual's preferences or circumstances. Any specific instructions or restrictions the principal places in the power of attorney document are binding on the agent; the agent must make decisions that are in line with the instructions left by the principal. Conversely, if the power of attorney document is silent on an issue, the agent is only limited to making a decision that is generally in the principal's best interest and in alignment with the agent's general understanding of how the agent would make decisions.