The health care directives, advance directive, and power of attorney are two legal documents that should be considered in tandem to best provide for you and your loved ones. Advance Directive
As the name suggests, an advance directive should be considered in advance to provide specific direction on what type of medical treatment you should receive. For example, if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness, typically, an advance directive would contain that diagnosis and the wishes for your care. A power of attorney permits another person to act on your behalf regarding financial transactions or property matters.
Differences Between Advance Directive and Power of Attorney:
- Power of Attorney is a document that allows individuals to designate someone other than themselves to carry out specific legal tasks or responsibilities on their behalf while they are alive or incapacitated. At the same time, the Advance directive is a document that allows an individual to make their wishes known as they relate to health care, treatment, and end-of-life issues. It can include decisions about where a patient should be taken to receive medical care, what tests should be performed on a patient, whether or not the patient’s life support systems should be used. Advance directives are not limited only to end-of-life issues. There are also advance directives on kidney dialysis and artificial nutrition and hydration.
- Power of Attorney permits control of attorney document to be created “in advance,” which means at some point before the event that makes a power of attorney necessary. On the other hand, Advance Directive can be created “after the fact,” meaning it can be used immediately or later under certain circumstances.
- Powers of Attorney are helpful when someone’s health situation changes, and they need to quickly and effectively direct their care. Advance directives are useful when someone anticipates developing a serious health condition or incurring the need for life-sustaining treatment and wants to run their care before needing assistance. For example, a person with advanced dementia may wish to state in writing that they do not wish to be kept alive by artificial means if their illness should progress.
- Powers of Attorney are best used for finances and business matters. The individual wishes a trusted family member or friend to make financial decisions or conduct business on their behalf. Powers of Attorney provide an individual with the ability to appoint someone who will help them make decisions regarding financial matters in the future. This is much different than Advance Directive, which is concerned with a patient’s medical care and personal wishes.
- Powers of Attorney are documents that can be used to give instructions to someone you trust about how you want your business or financial affairs handled if you become disabled or ill and unable to care for yourself (or are incapacitated). On the other hand, Advance Directives are documents that give doctors and health care providers instructions about how you want your medical care to be conducted if you cannot communicate with them.
- Power of Attorney is relevant in many decision-making contexts, especially where the individual has instructions to have another person make decisions on their behalf. Advance Directives are applicable in only one context: health care. In most cases, Advance Directives should be crafted by an attorney, using the language and format provided by your state’s statutes.
- A Power of Attorney document lasts as long as the person’s living, or until it is revoked or terminated (which can be done at any time). The term of an Advance Directive begins when the patient is given life-sustaining therapy and continues until death when it expires.
- A person may use a Power of Attorney to appoint someone to handle their financial affairs when they are incapacitated due to dementia or a physical/mental disability. An Advance Directive can only be used to make health care directives.
- A Power of Attorney document can be executed (i.e., signed, sealed, and filed) anywhere a notary public is. At the same time, an Advance Directive must be marked with a notary and filed in the appropriate state repository within 30 days of its creation date.
- A Power of Attorney document may provide instructions for a limited period (generally 90 days, but this can be extended or shortened) and for a limited specific purpose. Advance Directives typically cover unlimited periods and ongoing medical issues.