Health Care Power of Attorney – A Vital Document
Health Care Power of Attorney documents are vital to an effective estate plan. These documents should be included in both a will based estate plan or a revocable living trust based estate plan.
In Arizona we create two stand alone Health Care Power of Attorneys:
- Durable Medical Power of Attorney and
- Durable Mental Health Care Power of Attorney
- Both of have a privacy release included in them under the Federal HIPAA laws.
The purpose of a health care power of attorney is to privately appoint a loved one or trusted person to make all your medical decisions for you in the event that you are unable to make or communicate your own medical wishes. Having valid health care power of attorney documents will allow your family and loved ones to take care of you without going through a court sponsored guardianship.
A guardianship is where the court takes away your Constitutional rights to make your own medical decisions and grants such power to another individual. Guardianships can be expensive to set up, require court supervision over your affairs in addition to annual reports that must be filed every year.
Please contact estate planning attorney, Kenneth Barney at [email protected] or call him at (480) 833-1113 to schedule your appointment for more information about obtaining or updating your health care power of attorney documents, or use the form below to send him an email.
