Caregiving and Elder Law Attorneys
Why Senior and Other Family Caregivers Need Legal Advice
If a family member suddenly becomes too ill to act on his or her own behalf, family caregivers may lose access to the patient's finances and health care decisions, unless certain legal documents are already in place. These documents are the cornerstones of health care planning:
- Durable Power of Attorney,
- Living Will,
- Health Care Proxy,
- Do Not Resuscitate Order (DNR), and
- Last Will and Testament.
Senior and other family caregivers should consult an attorney specializing in elder law who will prepare these items and advise families on additional planning tools, depending on their circumstances.
It is preferable to prepare these documents before illness strikes.
Elder Law and a Durable Power of Attorney
This document is essential for seniors. It allows a person to appoint another individual to act on his or her behalf with respect to financial affairs. The Durable Power of Attorney differs from a regular Power of Attorney in that it stays in effect even if the person granting it becomes mentally unable to act on his or her own behalf, making it an essential tool for family caregivers.
Health Care Planning and the Living Will
The Living Will specifies what types of treatment an individual would want in the event of catastrophic illness. In order for the Living Will to be honored, it must make a clear statement about specific medical circumstances and must be very specific about what type of treatment the individual would wish to have or not have. This document is most often used to address issues such as artificial life support.
Senior Caregivers and the Health Care Proxy
A Health Care Proxy is a legal document people use to grant authority to another adult to make health care decisions for them in the event they are unable to make those decisions themselves. This document must be prepared while the people granting the authority are still mentally competent to do so.
Only one person can be given authority so that the difficulties of joint decision making are avoided. However, an alternate person may be designated at the time the Health Care Proxy is prepared in the event the first person is unable or unwilling to serve.
The designated person has the power to make all health care decisions for the patient. However, if the patient requires a feeding tube and intravenous fluids to survive, it is required that the person making the decisions know what the patient’s wishes would be. This is why the patient's Living Will is a very important document for family caregivers to have.
Elder Care and the Do Not Resuscitate Order (DNR)
Once patients are in the process of dying, they and their families may not want medical professionals to restore cardiac function and breathing in the event of cardiac arrest. In order to prevent medical personnel from providing such treatment, a DNR must be signed. This is usually a good time to enlist the services of Hospice.
Last Will and Testament
The Will is a document in which people state whom they wish to give their assets to when they die. Families of people who die without a Will are forced to have the deceased’s assets divided up among different relatives according to a formula developed by the state in which they live. This may not reflect the wishes of the person who died and may tie up the assets for a long period of time. Anyone with assets should have a will.
Rules may vary in different states and countries. Consulting an elder law attorney is the best way to ensure that families are protected medically, legally and financially.
