Choosing The Right Attorney-In-Fact For A Medical Power Of Attorney
Many individuals consider a medical power of attorney to be the lynchpin of their advance care planning. Choosing the right attorney-of-fact to designate as a surrogate decision-maker for medical situations, however, is critical to the document’s ultimate success in achieving your estate planning goals. To learn more about designating a proxy for medical decisions in Florida, or to discuss the factors to consider in choosing your surrogate in greater detail, call Loughlin Law, P.A. at 561-559-6214 to set up a consultation with our experienced estate planning team.
What Is a Medical Power of Attorney in Florida?
A medical power of attorney is a type of advance directive used in many states. As the National Institute on Aging (NIA) explains, advance directives are legal documents that allow individuals to document their consent or refusal for certain types of medical interventions, particularly those that are commonly used in end-of-life care (such as mechanically supplied nutrition and hydration), or to appoint trusted parties to make decisions related to less predictable medical questions in the event that the patient is unable to grant informed consent or make and communicate decisions independently when the need arises.
The first type of document used to outline an individual’s choices on common end-of-life medical treatments and interventions in advance, is typically called a Living Will and is available in some form in most parts of the United States. The second is the type frequently referred to as a medical power of attorney. This nomenclature derives from the document’s structural and conceptual similarities to the more general power of attorney, which normally applies to financial matters, but the formal legal name given to a medical power of attorney can vary quite a bit from one state to the next, as can the portion of the state’s legal code in which the requirements for a medical power of attorney are laid out. In Florida, the statutory name is “Designation of Health Care Surrogate,” and the document’s scope and function is laid out in Fla. Rev. Stat. § 765.202, under the state’s Civil Rights code.
Medical vs. Financial Powers of Attorney
States that call their legal documents for designating proxy decision-makers for medical situations medical powers of attorney or powers of attorney for health care often place the statutes governing the legal requirements for the validity of these documents, as well as their functions and effects, next to the statutes that control the other type of power of attorney. Financial powers of attorney are so familiar and commonly used that “power of attorney,” when given without a qualifier, can almost always be taken as a reference to this type.
How Powers of Attorney Work
In a financial power of attorney, one individual appoints another person to be their attorney-in-fact, also sometimes called an agent. In much the same way that an attorney-at-law is authorized to act on a client’s behalf, filing and responding to motions and pleadings in the client’s place, an attorney-in-fact named in a financial power of attorney gains the authority to commit the individual who has made the appointment – known as the principal – to payment terms and contractual arrangements. The agent is empowered to complete a wide variety of transactions and, in general, to otherwise act in the principal’s place across all matters covered in the power of attorney document, which can be customized to meet individual needs and goals within the requirements set by state law.
Medical Power of Attorney or Power of Attorney for Health Care
A medical power of attorney or designation of health care surrogate follows the same basic logic as a financial power of attorney, but restricts the scope of the agent’s authority to medical decisions – usually to those medical decisions not covered in a Living Will, which will typically prevail over the judgment of the attorney-in-fact if there is ever a discrepancy. In states that use the medical power of attorney terminology, a power of attorney is also typically specified to be durable, meaning that the power of attorney does not automatically expire if the principal is determined to be incapacitated (usually by a medical examination). Since it is only in the context of such incapacity that there is a need for a medical power of attorney, this durability is important to ensure.
Implications of Durable Power of Attorney for Choosing an Attorney-in-Fact
Financial as well as medical powers of attorney often form important parts of a comprehensive estate plan, and many individuals value the durability provision for a financial power of attorney precisely because it means they can name someone they trust to carry out the management of their financial affairs if and when they are no longer able to manage such matters personally on a day-to-day basis. At the same time, designating anybody to make decisions on your behalf carries some element of risk – and these risks can be amplified when the person thus authorized is explicitly granted the power to make such decisions while you are unable to effectively monitor their decision-making processes, advocate for yourself, or (in many cases) even making your current wishes known. Choosing the right person to name as your attorney-in-fact in a medical power of attorney, or as your proxy in a designation of health care surrogate, is therefore crucial to securing your future outcomes and present peace of mind.
Close Relationship
Most individuals who choose to designate a surrogate for medical decisions as part of their advance care planning prefer to name someone they know well and trust deeply. While a financial power of attorney may benefit from a strong investment or accounting background, one of the most powerful preparations for a good attorney-in-fact in a medical power of attorney is simply close, respectful knowledge of the principal – intimate familiarity with their preferences, with their way of viewing the world and the choices available in it, with the choices they have speculated about in advance or valued in others.
Respect for Others’ Outlooks
In choosing a health care surrogate, it is important to look for someone who is not only familiar with the way you would approach decisions relating to medical care yourself if given the opportunity, but willing to apply the same kind of logic on your behalf. Sometimes the ideal person will be someone who shares your essential approach to evaluating medical decisions, or your outlook on life-extending interventions. More important than finding someone who shares your perspective, however, is selecting someone who is willing to make on your behalf, in difficult situations, the decisions they believe you would make for yourself if given the chance – regardless of whether those choices align with their own preferences. Talking about the range of possibilities and what you would want, in advance, can be helpful in preparing the individual you name as your proxy, so that they already know the broad outline of your wishes and will be ready when the time comes to apply them.
Empathy and Availability
Sometimes the medical decisions that must be made in the event of a principal’s incapacity are short-term and quickly over – they are associated with end-of-life care, and many of them may concern determining when to withdraw life-sustaining care once other medical options for recovery have been exhausted. In other situations, however, there may be multiple decisions to be made over a more extended period of time – when prolonged or recurring unconsciousness is an issue, or when the principal and patient suffers from cognitive decline during a period when medical treatment for other conditions may be indicated. Choosing as the attorney-in-fact for your medical power of attorney an individual who has the personal loyalty (and availability) to keep showing up when needed, and the empathy to try and weigh the information provided through the lens of your perspective when called on, can be an enormous benefit to your advance care planning.
Learn Your Medical Power of Attorney Options and Speak With an Estate Planning Lawyer Today
Advance care planning can be complex, and designating a surrogate to make health care decisions on your behalf involves a number of complex and personally significant choices. A medical power of attorney is a crucial part of estate planning for individuals who wish to prepare for the possibility of their own incapacity, whether prolonged or fleeing – but the effectiveness with which this document achieves your ultimate goals will depend in large part upon choosing the right attorney-in-fact to shoulder the enormous responsibility. Speak with a Florida estate planning attorney at Loughlin Law, P.A. today to discuss further considerations for your designation of health care surrogate by calling our Boca Raton office at 561-559-6214.
