Advance Directives for Healthcare in Georgia form a vital part of many comprehensive Estate Plans. These documents inform medical providers and family members about what medical care you want to accept or reject if you are unable to provide consent in the future. They may also nominate family members or trusted friends to make these choices on your behalf.
Doctors who receive these documents must follow their instructions and family members can never override the author’s wishes. As a result, these are powerful and flexible ways to retain control over your future health. Contact our attorneys at Nelson Elder Care Law now to discover more about Advanced Directives for Healthcare in Georgia.
Advanced Directives for Healthcare serve as a way for Georgia residents to retain autonomy over their medical treatment during difficult situations. This works because these documents have a legal impact on the actions of both medical providers and family members.
By having a legally valid Advanced Directive for Healthcare in place, you can rest assured that a doctor will follow the language of that document should you be unable to provide consent in the future. This means that if you suffer from incapacity due to a physical or mental impairment, you will still be able to project your wishes for medical care into the future. In fact, these documents have no legal effect whatsoever unless the author is unable to provide their consent at the moment of care. For this reason, there is no downside to having an Advanced Directive for Healthcare in place today.
Advanced Directives for Healthcare are flexible documents that can become extremely powerful in the future. However, this only occurs if the documents accurately describe your wishes and meet the requirements for formation under state law.
According to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 31-32-4, these documents must contain your signature as well as those of at least two witnesses who observed the signing. This method of self-authentication helps to lend credibility when a friend or family member presents the document to a medical provider.
Another essential concept in these documents is ensuring that the document is as specific and detailed as possible. If you wish to nominate another to make choices on your behalf, the naming of the person should be clear. Language such as “My son, John” is better than simply saying “My son.” Likewise, instructions for medical providers should also speak in no uncertain terms. For example, including a clause for experimental treatment for an already diagnosed disease as opposed to leaving the door open for any other form of unproven care for an unspecified condition. Hiring our experienced attorneys in Georgia to draft your Advanced Directive for Healthcare can help you meet these important goals.
A comprehensive Estate Plan should plan for the unexpected. For all adults, this can include what will happen should a mental or physical affliction leave them unable to consent to medical care. Especially when you already know if you want experimental treatment or to avoid life-support efforts, having a plan in place to dictate these wishes to medical providers is essential.
Contact Nelson Elder Care Law now to start putting your wishes on paper. We can work with you to identify your goals, determine the necessary legal steps, and retain control over your medical future using an Advanced Directive for Healthcare in Georgia.
