All adults need to plan for the possibility that there may be times when they can’t speak for themselves and will need someone else to act on their behalf. It may be about financial matters (paying bills, filing taxes, managing investments …) or about healthcare decisions, especially those at the end of life.
An estate-planning attorney can help your loved one prepare the documents needed. The paperwork regarding finances will typically include naming a decision maker while your relative is still alive. And then determining how assets will be distributed after they die and who will be in charge of managing that process.
Some of the more complicated (and emotional) decision making has to do with medical care. What kind of care do they want, for instance, if they have dementia? What about life support decisions? When to keep fighting to stay alive and when to say enough is enough and allow a natural death?
These articles can help you get an overview of the documents needed. They also provide guidance for meaningful discussions so your loved one can rest assured that the decisions made will reflect their wishes and values.
- What matters most
- Choosing a healthcare decision maker
- If you are a decision maker
- Key conversations
- Life support
- The advance directive
- The POLST : [physicanorder]
- Finances and estate planning
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