Designation of Health Care Surrogate
The designation of health care surrogate document is used to give your spouse, son or daughter, or any person you trust and designate (referred to as your “agent”) legal authority to act on your behalf in the event you are unable to make health related decisions concerning your health care, the document you need is called a “Designation of Health Care Surrogate”. The Designation of Health Care Surrogate document will provide your chosen surrogate with guidance as to the medical treatment you would want and it provides guidance for your health care providers as well. And when properly drafted, the Designation of Health Care Surrogate document will allow your surrogate to have access to your medical records.
Living Will
The Living Will is used to give your spouse, son or daughter, or any person you trust and so designate legal authority to make decisions on your behalf concerning any medical treatments you may or may not want concerning life sustaining procedures when you have a “terminal condition”, “end-stage condition”, or are in a “persistent vegetative state” and when you are no longer able to communicate these wishes. The name of the document, “Living Will”, is misleading as it really has nothing to do with what most people think of as a “Will” (also known as Last Will and Testament). Unlike a Will which is used to direct how your assets and property are to be distributed after your death, the Living Will does not have anything to do with distributing assets.
