An Advance Directive for Healthcare, also known as a Power of Attorney for Healthcare, is a legal document that outlines your preferences for medical care in case you are no longer able to make decisions for yourself. It provides important directions for healthcare providers and for your family. It’s smart to get assistance from an elder law attorney who can help with this and other aspects of your estate planning.
Our estate planning lawyers in Marietta have served hundreds of Georgia families and assisted them with complex legal issues that come along with aging. Call today to schedule your Legacy Planning Meeting to discuss your advance directive for healthcare and other needs.
What is Included in a Healthcare Advance Directive in Georgia?
You would benefit from a customized document that is created for your specific situation and needs. An attorney may draft your own custom form that complies with Georgia law.
Along with a Healthcare Advance Directive, you will also need a Living Will:
- A healthcare power of attorney lets you select a healthcare agent to make medical decisions for you if you become unable to speak or decide for yourself.
- A living will allows you to state your wishes about life-sustaining treatment if you’re seriously ill or injured and can’t communicate your decisions to doctors or family.
Your advance directive may include your wishes regarding medications, whereas your Living Will covers procedures such as tube feeding, ventilators, CPR, and other treatments. With these choices clearly outlined, you remove stress from family members who would have needed to make difficult choices without knowing your wishes.
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What Authority Does an Advance Directive Give Your Agent?Your healthcare agent has the authority to make medical decisions when you can’t, based on your wishes and values. This is a serious commitment, and your agent has a great deal of responsibility and power.
This can include:
- Accessing your medical information in accordance with HIPAA
- Accepting or refusing treatment
- Deciding on surgery
- Managing medications
- Admitting you to a hospital
- Admitting you to a nursing home or other care community
Your agent speaks on your behalf, so it’s important to choose someone who understands your preferences and is comfortable taking on this role. In Georgia, your agent can’t override any instructions you’ve written in the directive. Their job is to follow your directions.
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When Should You Create an Advance Directive for Healthcare?
It’s best to create an advance directive while you’re healthy and able to think through your choices. If a sudden illness or accident takes away your ability to make decisions, you can’t legally create an advance directive.
Important documents like a last will and testament, powers of attorney, and advance directives become increasingly important as you age. Our estate planning lawyers can help you create a strategy that puts the right people in important positions when you can’t speak for yourself.
What Happens if You Don’t Have an Advance Directive?
Without an advance directive, Georgia law decides who will make healthcare decisions for you based on a hierarchy. If there are conflicts, family members may need to petition the probate court for guardianship, a lengthy and expensive process.
Without an advance directive that clearly outlines your wishes, in a life threatening situation medical providers will do what they believe is in your best interest, which might not match what you would have chosen. Having an advance directive puts those decisions in your hands during a crisis.
Can You Revoke or Change Your Advance Directive in Georgia?
In Georgia, you can revoke or change your Advance Directive for Health Care at any time, as long as you are mentally competent. To revoke it, write a statement declaring your intent to revoke, or simply tell your health care provider or agent.
To make changes, you should complete a new Advance Directive form and distribute copies to your doctor, health care agent, and anyone who had the previous version. It’s important to clearly communicate any updates to avoid confusion during a medical emergency.
Only the most recent signed directive is considered legally valid, so you may wish to destroy previous versions.
Do You Need an Attorney to Draft an Advance Directive?
Your Advance Directive allows you to clearly state your medical wishes in case you can’t speak for yourself and names a trusted healthcare agent to make decisions that reflect your values. While you can technically create one without a lawyer, having an experienced attorney ensures you receive the guidance to understand the variety of situations it covers, it’s done correctly and customized to your family’s unique values and beliefs.
Even small mistakes or unclear language can cause major issues later—often not discovered until your loved ones are trying to use the document. By then, it’s too late for you to clarify your intentions, and disagreements could lead to costly and stressful court proceedings.
While the state of Georgia provides a standard form that meets all legal requirements, and many people fill it out on their own, this do-it-yourself approach won’t always meet your needs.
Your advance directive is part of a complete estate plan, which requires experience, thought, and strategy.
Our legal team at Nelson Elder Care Law can help you understand documents and their importance, make changes when necessary, and ensure your complete plan will hold up legally for the long term. Call today to schedule your free Legacy Planning Meeting and get started.
