Lee's Summit Estate Planning Attorney Since 1976

It’s Never Too Early To Plan For A Health Crisis

At Lewis Law Office, P.C., in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, we offer a wide variety of services to help people plan for their financial legacies. Just as important, however, is the work we do for people while they are alive.

We are avid proponents of planning ahead. Whether you are young or old, the future is uncertain, and having clear, written and legally sanctioned instructions for the allocation of your assets and possessions, as well as for your medical care, can take a huge burden from your loved ones in a time of crisis. William A. Lewis can help.

We pride ourselves on providing honest, fair and forthright legal services to estate planning clients of all ages. To learn more about what makes us a law firm you can live with, contact us at 816-875-4516 or 877-549-3511.

A Direct Solution To A ‘Living’ Problem

The terms “power of attorney” and “living will” can cause a lot of confusion.

As an estate holder, you can grant administrative authority, known as “power,” to any person of your choosing for a variety of decisions regarding assets or health care. This is known as a power of attorney, and it can apply to a variety of administrative tasks involving estates and health care decisions for the estate holder.

An “advance directive” is more specific and more proactive. It involves a legal document that instructs others of your health care wishes in advance of your death or during incapacity.

The term “living will” (though a misnomer since “living” and “wills” tend to negate one another) is commonly used to describe a type of advance directive that instructs health care providers that you don’t want to receive medical treatments that prolong your life unnecessarily if you are terminally ill and/or near death.

Likewise, an advance health care directive can provide specific instructions regarding specific health care you do not want to receive if you become terminally ill or brain damaged or suffer some other significant incapacity. Such a directive can preclude nursing home or other medical personnel from implementing feeding tubes or artificial respiration. These decisions should be made by you after carefully, or even prayerfully considering what you want to occur.

Advantages Of Establishing An Advance Health Care Directive

An advance health care directive offers some distinct advantages with a power of attorney on health over the limited concept embodied in a living will:

  • Living wills are limited to what can and can’t be done to prevent death or to preserve life. They also may not be specific about treatments that fall short of preventing death.
  • Conversely, a health care power of attorney with a durable power of attorney not only communicates your philosophy but also appoints a person to carry out your medical decisions. If you have a spouse or a child you trust to carry out these decisions, a health care power of attorney can be advantageous. But if that person also dies or becomes incapacitated, you need to have a backup representative or another means of protecting yourself.
  • We recommend an advance health care directive with a durable power of attorney for health as a simple and, dare we say it, “direct” way of ensuring that your wishes are carried out.

Missouri Advance Health Care Directive Attorney

The end of life is a time worthy of consideration for any person. To learn more about how our Lee’s Summit living will attorney can assist you in planning effectively, call us at 816-875-4516 or 877-549-3511.

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