Understanding the Importance of Having Healthcare and General Powers of Attorney
Healthcare Power of Attorney
One of the great things about being an adult (i.e. 18 years old+) is that you can make a lot of decisions for yourself. An important, but often overlooked decision includes the right to make your own choices regarding your healthcare. But, what happens if you have an illness or accident that renders you incapable of making your own healthcare decisions? These circumstances are unfortunately common for a lot of people and are the reason why we all need to have a Healthcare Power of Attorney in place. With a Healthcare Power of Attorney, you can still make these decisions (for example, what medical care or treatment to accept, reject, or discontinue) by nominating an agent to act on your behalf, and you will have spelled out in your Healthcare Power of Attorney the directions regarding your healthcare that you want your agent to follow. This gives you some control over your healthcare decisions even after you have lost capacity and/or are no longer able to communicate those wishes or decisions.
If you don’t have a Healthcare Power of Attorney in place, you are likely putting your family and loved ones in a difficult position. They may disagree on how to proceed regarding your medical treatment. They may have go to the Probate Court to file a petition to have someone appointed as your guardian, so that there will be a court order naming the individual who can now make decisions for you. You have far less control in this scenario (none, really) over your medical decisions, and who can make those decisions for you. It is far more costly and time consuming to end up in this position, than it is to get a Healthcare Power of Attorney in place.
Durable/General Power of Attorney
For similar reasons, it is recommended that everyone have a Durable Power of Attorney – commonly referred to as a “financial” power of attorney. Of course you may be able to pay your bills, access your government benefits, change beneficiaries on your retirement accounts, etc. now. But, if you become incapacitated (because of illness, accident, advanced age, etc.), you will need someone to manage them for you. If you do not have a General Power of Attorney in place, naming an agent who can act on your behalf regarding these (often financial related) matters, your family/loved ones will have to petition the Probate Court to have someone appointed as a conservator. This, too, is far more costly and time consuming than it is to get a General Power of Attorney in place.
It is often times more important to have these two documents than it is to have a will. The statutes that govern intestacy (dying without a will) are written in a way that is intended to distribute your estate the way one would think you’d have wanted, if you had a will. (For example, if husband dies leaving spouse and children, his estate is distributed half to the spouse and half to the children). Of course there are many reasons to have a will, and this post should not be read to say that a will is not important – I am emphasizing to you the very important nature of also having your powers of attorney in place. In many cases, as a person ages, they need help for a good period of time managing their healthcare and financial matters, well before they pass away and have an estate to distribute.
Do not put your family and loved ones in the difficult, time consuming, and costly position of having to go to court to petition for a guardian or conservator to be appointed for you.
If you are considering a “DIY” power of attorney from the internet, please be aware that there are a number of state specific legal requirements and formalities that must be followed in order for the power of attorney to be a valid document upon which your agent can legally act. At a minimum, if you have done a “DIY” power of attorney online, you should still have a South Carolina licensed attorney review it to make sure it complies with our state’s legal requirements.