Part of the estate planning process can include deciding how you want your medical, financial, legal, and personal affairs handled should you become incapacitated and unable to make those decisions. Estate planning tools like powers of attorney and healthcare directives can empower your loved ones to care for your interests and welfare if you become incapacitated and ensure that your family, healthcare providers, and legal and financial advisors carry out your wishes. As a result, you should understand the difference between a power of attorney and a healthcare directive under Texas law to ensure you have the legal tools you need in your estate plan.
What Is a Power of Attorney?
A power of attorney is a legal document in which a person, called a “principal,” authorizes another individual, called an “agent,” to act on the principal’s behalf. People use powers of attorney to empower trusted individuals to sign documents or take other actions on their behalf, eliminating the need for the person to do those things themselves. However, in the estate planning context, people typically use powers of attorney to authorize a trusted family member, friend, or professional advisor to act on their behalf in the event of physical or cognitive incapacity.
A person may create a “springing” power of attorney, which becomes effective only upon the occurrence of a specified event, like the person’s incapacity. A person can also have a “durable” power of attorney, which overrides the standard rule under which a power of attorney ends upon the principal’s incapacity, allowing the agent to continue exercising their authority during the principal’s incapacity.
What Is a Healthcare Directive?
A healthcare directive is a document or set of documents that allows a person to direct their medical treatment and end-of-life care in the event of incapacity that leaves them unable to understand or communicate medical decisions. A healthcare directive usually contains two components:
- Medical power of attorney: A medical power of attorney allows a principal to name a healthcare proxy to make medical treatment decisions for them if they cannot.
- Directive to physicians and family/surrogates: Also called a “living will,” a directive document allows a person to inform their healthcare providers, family members, and healthcare proxy about the person’s wishes, preferences, and ethical considerations regarding medical treatment and end-of-life care, helping providers, proxies, and family to make treatment and care decisions that the person would make for themselves.
Why You Need Both
A power of attorney typically authorizes an agent to manage a principal’s financial and legal matters, including real estate, investments, business matters, and other financial assets. However, when a person wants to designate someone to make medical decisions for them, they will need to create a healthcare directive that includes a medical power of attorney authorizing someone to handle medical decision-making if the principal becomes incapacitated. As a result, when a person wants to ensure that trusted loved ones can act on their behalf in the event of incapacity, they may need both a durable power of attorney and a healthcare directive.
Contact Our Estate Planning Lawyers Today
A power of attorney and healthcare directive can each provide you with peace of mind knowing you’ve prepared for a potential personal or medical emergency by empowering your family to care for you and carry out your wishes. Contact Guest & Grey today for a free, confidential consultation with our Texas estate planning attorneys to understand the different roles that powers of attorney and healthcare directives play in estate plans and discuss why you might need both for your estate planning strategy.
