Living Wills and Powers of Attorney for Health Care

» Lawhawk - Good basic description of power of attorney...

A few things to keep in mind:

Each state has their own requirements for how to prepare a living will or power of attorney including the proper form to use. Most law libraries have form books that can be used as a guideline for your specific case.

www.nolopress.com has a good section on elder law and how to prepare these documents.

http://www.seniorpages.com/legal.htm is another good page for information

One should also look into springing power of attorney; that is where a specific event or series of events occur that 'spring' the power of attorney into being. It is also a good idea to speak with other family members and personal doctors to make sure everyone is on the same page about the type of care you want to receive. Speaking with an attorney is also a good idea if you have a more complicated situation as well.

-- posted by Lawhawk

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» Karen_Largent - Thanks Michael!

Thanks so much for the added information Michael. This was a tricky topic to research, I'm not a lawyer and knew very little. Speaking to an attorney is a good bet for everyone!

-- posted by Karen_Largent

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» biogardener - special cases

In Manitoba, even if you have done all the necessary paper work, you may not be able to care for your loved one who has been declare incompetent. The Public Trustee's office has taken charge of many people, and to fight this government office is simply too expensive, so they get away with it again and again, even when you have an enduring power of attorney.

I know of cases where the family knew nothing about the involvement of the Public Trustee until it was too late. When there is money involved, the Public Trustee is especially interested, because they take a percentage of the person's income. To take a government office to court can bankrupt you, and by the time you win your case, if you win, your loved one is probably no longer alive.

Fortunately, this is the only Canadian province where the government has that much power over people's destinies.

-- posted by biogardener

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