A Power of Attorney for Personal Care

A Living Will (also known as a Power of Attorney for Personal Care/Health Care Power of Attorney/Advance Directive) allows you to express your wishes and directions regarding your health care and to appoint individual(s) to act on your behalf for health care matters in the event that you are unable to do so. The purpose of this document is to cover situations where a Will does not apply (eg. you are still alive) such as where you are incapacitated or in a coma and cannot express your wishes or give consent to health care matters. We’re often asked what the difference is between a Last Will and a Living Will (people sometimes conflate the two documents as being the same). It is an equally important document, relating to matters regarding your health and how you want to be treated for your medical matters. A Power of Attorney for Personal Care would come into effect only if you become incapacitated or unable to speak on your behalf. If, for instance, you are in a coma or are experiencing the effects of Alzheimers, your “Attorney” will express your wishes through the document you have created. He or she will convey your wishes to the doctors looking after you.  Essentially, a Living Will (much like that of a Last Will), speaks for you when you cannot.

Using our proprietary technology to create your Living Will, your document covers a wide-range of items including the following:

  • A clause revoking previous Health Care Power of Attorney/Living Will documents
  • Specification of your city/town and province/territory of jurisdiction
  • Appointing an Attorney who will carry out the terms of your document
  • Appointing alternate Attorney(s)
  • Your wishes regarding life support options
  • Your wishes regarding organ donation
  • Your wishes on various medical treatments
  • Specification of detailed powers and duties for your Attorney(s)
  • Specification of liability of Attorney(s)
  • Specification of restrictions on the types of powers your Attorney(s) will exercise

Having a contingency plan in place is the cornerstone of a Power of Attorney/Living Will. Read about why a Power of Attorney/Living Will is important in the article below:

The Importance of a Power of Attorney.