A Living Will and a Health Care Power of Attorney are two of the most important estate planning documents. These legal documents state your wishes “during life.” An accident or health emergency can occur at any age so everyone should have these documents in place. 

Both of these documents are used when you are in a medical emergency and cannot communicate your wishes to your physician. They are tailored to state your exact wishes regarding your health care decisions. A Living Will is used by your physician as a set of your personal, written instructions for health care decisions. A Health Care Power of Attorney appoints a person to whom you grant the authority to make health care decisions on your behalf.

In Wisconsin, these two documents are usually combined into one.This way, if your appointed Health Care Power of Attorney is available, your physician can ask him or her how you would want to be taken care of. If your appointed person is unavailable, your basic wishes are listed in the same document so your physician would have a good idea of how to proceed with your care. Having both bases covered in one document is also valuable if you are frequently in another state, such as Arizona or Florida. Some state laws only recognize Living Wills, while others only respect Health Care Power of Attorneys.

We recommend copies of these documents be added to your medical records so they are automatically within your physician’s reach. We also advise that copies of these documents be kept in a place easily accessible to members of your family so they would know what to do in an emergency. These are the most important documents to have in any health emergency which is why your doctor may ask if you have them at your next visit.

Attorney Laura L. Colt is an estate planning http://www.lgtlawfirm.com/practices and bankruptcy attorney with LaRowe Gerlach Taggart LLP in Reedsburg. This column is provided as a public service by Attorney Colt. While the information in this column is about legal issues, it is not legal advice or legal representation. Because of the rapidly changing nature of the law and our reliance upon outside sources, we make no warranty or guarantee of the accuracy or reliability of information contained herein.

To make an appointment to meet with Attorney Laura Colt, call 608-524-8231 during regular business hours. For other informational articles and introductions to the other Attorneys at LaRowe Gerlach Taggart LLP http://www.lgtlawfirm.com please click on the link to our website. We look forward to hearing from you!