#1 Advance Directives for Health Care

Making a living will and health care proxy to specify one’s intentions for end-of-life care is one practice that older Americans are beginning to do more frequently. 

Do you want to be kept alive by a machine or a feeding tube? In the eventuality that your heart stops, do you wish to be brought back to life? Doctors must go above and beyond (and maybe against your wishes) to save you if you don’t have a living will. 

These papers have a specific function and are frequently referred to as “advanced health care directives.”

A health care proxy, also known as a health care power of attorney, is a legal document that gives someone else the power to make medical decisions on behalf of another person in the event that the person becomes unable to do so.

The records must be accessible to healthcare professionals in order to be used correctly. The person could not receive the end-of-life treatment they had planned for if the records are kept hidden and locked up in a safe deposit box. So make sure copies are available for your doctors, family members, and health care power of attorney.