Advanced Directives & Healthcare Financial Power of Attorney - Serving Cary, Durham, Chapel Hill, Raleigh and Surrounding Areas

A healthcare power of attorney lets you name someone you trust to make medical decisions on your behalf if you're ever unable to make them yourself. Without one, decisions about your care could end up in the hands of a court rather than someone who actually knows you and your wishes. It's one of the most essential pieces of a complete estate plan, and it ensures you're cared for the way you actually want to be.

Yes. A healthcare power of attorney allows you to choose someone you trust to step in and make medical decisions for you if you're ever unable to communicate them yourself. It's an important document that also includes additional information to guide medical professionals and decisionmakers regarding your care. 

A healthcare power of attorney names the people who can make healthcare decisions on your behalf, and it also communicates important information to your providers, like allergies, medications, and chronic conditions that affect your ongoing care. A living will (also called an advance directive for a natural death) is more specific: it addresses whether you want to be kept alive artificially, through measures like artificial hydration or nutrition, if you're at the end of life and death is expected to occur soon. Both documents work together as part of your advance directives, and both are essential pieces of a complete estate plan.

A healthcare power of attorney covers decisions about your medical care and living situation, while a financial power of attorney covers legal and financial matters, like signing documents, paying bills, and managing your accounts. You can name the same person for both roles or choose different people for each, depending on who's best suited. If a court ever needs to appoint someone in either role, they'll also take that person's financial responsibility, like their credit history, into account.

Yes. Each document serves a distinct and important purpose: your healthcare power of attorney manages your medical and living decisions, while your financial power of attorney handles your legal and financial matters. Together, they form a complete plan for incapacity, so no important area of your life is left unaddressed.

Absolutely, and I encourage it. Naming several potential agents means that if one of them is ever unable or unwilling to serve, another potential agent you've already chosen can step in without needing court involvement. Unlike a financial power of attorney, healthcare decision-making authority isn't something an agent can hand off to someone else on their own; it has to be a person you've already named. If none of your named potential agents are available, the decision would go back to the court, which is exactly what we're working to help you avoid. We'll help you think through good potential agents so you feel confident you're cared for the way you want.

Advance directives are a set of three documents: a healthcare power of attorney, a living will, and a HIPAA waiver, that together make up your incapacity planning for personal care. These should be created as part of your overall estate plan, not as an afterthought, so your care always aligns with your wishes. We help you put together advance directives tailored specifically to you. 

Yes, you can revoke or change your healthcare power of attorney at any time, as long as you have the capacity to do so. We guide you through that process to make sure your healthcare decisions stay current with both your wishes and North Carolina law.