In this day and age, our bodies are at times outliving our minds. All too often we hear of clients who have loved ones suffering from dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and a host of other mental illnesses that occur late in life. When loved ones suffer from these problems, it is hard for family members to look on as their loved ones turn down necessary medications or avoid the help they really need in order to take care of themselves.
The Carroll Law Firm has added an additional document to our estate planning package. We are now offering the mental healthcare power of attorney in addition to the last will and testament, living will, health care power of attorney, and business power of attorney. This document is critical regardless of age or present health condition. The mental health care power of attorney grants powers or authorities to someone you appoint as your agent. If you are diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimers’ disease, and are still competent to make these types of decisions, you can put this document in place just in case there is a mental health care need down the road. This document would prevent your family from having to pursue the expensive and time consuming process of guardianship over you should these types of mental health issues arise.
Estate planning allows you to specify where each of your assets goes upon your death, and is built upon the foundation of the essential estate planning documents that cover all three phases of your life: while you’re alive and well, if you become disabled, and after you die. The mental healthcare power of attorney is a document that would affect you if you become mentally disabled.
The mental healthcare power of attorney grants much narrower powers than the regular healthcare power of attorney document. The reason these powers are narrower is because the mental healthcare power of attorney becomes irrevocable once you are no longer competent. The powers granted under the mental healthcare power of attorney include the ability to review your health records, consent to medications recommended by your treating physician, and admit you to a “level one” 24-hour treatment facility if necessary. You may choose one, two or all of these options in the document. Mental health treatment means the process of providing for the physical, emotional, psychological, and social needs of the principal for the principal’s mental illness.
This document allows you to appoint a trusted loved one to make important decisions for you in your best interests if you’re unable to assert these decisions yourself. This document also prevents a third party from trying to obtain a guardianship over you against your wishes and instead allows you to choose who your fiduciary will be if one is necessary.
No one likes to dwell on the prospect of his or her own illness or death, but if you postpone getting the estate planning documents until it is too late, you run the risk of unnecessary burden and expense for your loved ones. By choosing to prepare all of these estate planning documents now you protect yourself and your loved ones from difficult, costly decisions in the future.
The Carroll Law Firm offers an estate planning special for $25.00 off each document when you get all five of our estate planning documents. To find out more information about our estate planning documents, call the office to schedule a free consultation.
