Health Care Related Legal Planning 

These are unusual times. The coronavirus pandemic is altering many aspects of our lives, quickly and acutely.  People want to take care of important tasks but, of course, want to abide by safe social distancing protocols to reduce the spread of the virus.

In recent weeks, clients, friends and acquaintances have been asking me what they should do to get their legal affairs in order and how they can do so in a manner that minimizes the risk of being infected by, or of spreading, the coronavirus. They want to avoid office visits if possible. That is wise. 

There is a growing possibility that members of your family and others in our community could become incapacitated for a period of time.  Important decisions about your medical care may need to be made by someone other than you.  Considering the very serious nature and the high-speed onset of the coronavirus pandemic, every adult should, at a minimum, consider updating his or her health care related estate planning at this time. 

Basic health care related estate planning should include:

Durable Power of Attorney for Medical and for Financial Decision Making. This document provides the means for you to appoint trustworthy people (“agents”) of your choice to assist in a) making your medical and personal decisions, b) paying your bills, and c) managing your income and investments if you become physically or mentally incapacitated and need assistance with those very important matters.  Not having a well-written Durable Power of Attorney in place may result in the need for an expensive, inefficient and time-consuming (weeks, not days) Court ordered guardianship. 

The differences between you naming an agent (and alternates) using a Durable Power of Attorney versus a judge appointing a guardian in a legal guardianship proceeding are profound in terms of a) who will be appointed, b) the time involved in getting the appointment made, c) the financial cost of getting the appointment in place, d) the extent of the authority given to the person(s) who will handle your medical and financial affairs for you, and e) the point in time at which the appointment becomes effective. 

Advance Medical Directive. This document provides the means for you to inform your family and your medical providers of the level of medical care that you want to receive or do not want to receive if you become gravely ill.

Note that many additional things should be considered when you address and update all other aspects of your estate planning. For more information about such things and about our law firm, review other areas of this website. 

WORDS OF CAUTION

1.   Avoid preparing your own legal documents based on forms borrowed from friends, purchased at bookstores or found on the Internet on the “prepare your own legal docs” sites). If your documents are missing critical provisions or are improperly executed, they may prove to be useless. Suffice it to say that such errors may be very costly.

2.   The simple “fill in the blanks” health care Durable Power of Attorney forms provided by hospitals and medical offices are often poorly drafted and incomplete. And rarely, if ever, do those medical forms name agents to handle financial decision making and asset management. Again, avoiding a guardianship should be an over-riding concern.

3.   Medical and legal matters are complex and involve many considerations. As with all important matters, seek assistance (medical, legal and otherwise) from knowledgeable and experienced professionals who every day are devoted in their practice to the type of matter you are addressing (as opposed to professionals who dabble in this and that).  Your medical care and your legal planning should both be state of the art.

Long ago our firm established efficient and reliable procedures to remotely assist our clients with their important legal matters via email, telephone conference calls and various means of video conferencing.  Considering today’s coronavirus concerns, we recognize now more than ever the need for adequate social distancing and for remote interaction with clients.  Be assured that we will accommodate your wishes and assist you with your important health care related estate planning while minimizing the need for you to travel to our office.

If your estate planning attorney has retired, died or is no longer practicing law in the Walla Walla area or if you have never done any estate planning, please contact our law firm and we will be glad to assist you. 

Stay healthy and be legally prepared for whatever the future brings!