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Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Things to Consider in Choosing Your Health Care Surrogate and Power of Attorney Agent

Estate planning includes much more than plans for after you die. In fact, many important legal tools that are included in a comprehensive estate plan provide protection for you and your wishes while you are still alive. The health care surrogate and power of attorney documents are two such examples. With a health care surrogate, you can designate someone else as your surrogate and empower him or her to make health care decisions on your behalf should you become incapacitated and unable to communicate health care wishes for yourself. A power of attorney allows you to grant your agent, with you as the principal, the authority to conduct a wide array of legal and financial transactions on your behalf. You can make a power of attorney durable in order to have the power to survive in the event of your incapacitation.

Both a health care surrogate and power of attorney can be critical in protecting yourself, your goals, and your wishes. The individuals you select as your health care surrogate or as your agent under a power of attorney are placed in roles of great responsibility. You should choose these individuals after careful consideration.

Things to Consider in Choosing Your Health Care Surrogate and Power of Attorney Agent

A great starting point in selecting your health care surrogate and your power of attorney agent is to consider what these two legal tools accomplish and what authority they bestow on another. Take the health care surrogate. Your health care surrogate will come into play in the event you are incapacitated due to injury or illness. He or she will be tasked with making critical health care decisions on your behalf. This, of course, can be a stressful role to take on amidst an already stressful and likely emotional time. Your surrogate will need to make important decisions while also trying to deal with the fact that you have become incapacitated. Because of this, it may be wise to select someone who is levelheaded in even the most stressful of situations. You may even want to consider someone outside of your family as family members can, understandably, have judgment clouded by the incredibly personal and emotional situation following the incapacitation of a loved one.

You may also want to consider selecting a health care surrogate who understands your health care preferences. Once you have narrowed down your choices of who to select as your surrogate, you may want to have a frank discussion with each to see who is most understanding of your health care wishes and who is willing to honor them even under the most overwhelming of circumstances. Be sure that whoever you select as your health care surrogate agrees to serve in this role should the need arise. Select an alternate just in case your primary selection later becomes unable or unable to serve in this role.

In regard to selecting an agent under a power of attorney, it may greatly depend on what powers you want to bestow upon that agent. Do you want that individual to be empowered to take on the management of your finances? If so, consider selecting someone who is organized, dependable, and possibly has some financial management experience. You should also, of course, select someone who is trustworthy.

Estate Planning Attorney

At Monk Law, we create strong, comprehensive estate plans for our clients. We are here to walk you through the process and provide you with guidance every step of the way. Contact Monk Law today.


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