An elder law lawyer can help you to take steps to protect your future. One of the most important of those steps involves providing instructions regarding medical care that you wish to receive and medical care that you wish to decline. Having control over your own bodily autonomy is vital, but you need to act in advance because a day may come that you cannot communicate your preferences about the care you are interested in undergoing.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. will assist you in exploring the different options you have for controlling your own future when it comes to medical care. We can help you to spare your family difficult choices and make sure you get all of the care that you want and none of the care you would prefer to decline. To find out more about how our legal team can assist you, give us a call for help.

The Steps to Take to Avoid Unwanted Medical Care

Unfortunately, a serious illness or a serious injury could make it impossible for you to express your preferences about your medical care right at the time when you most need to make your wishes known. For example, if you suffer a serious stroke or if you are in a car accident and sustain devastating injuries, you may be unable to tell the doctors what measures you want used to save or extend your life.

To make sure that you have control over the kinds of care you get in these emergency situations, you will need to create advanced directives. Rochester Regional Health explains: “You can make decisions and issue directives now that will ensure that your wishes are followed in the event you become incapable of making important decisions about the medical care you receive.” Advanced directives allow you to make these choices.

There are two primary types of advanced directives that you can use in order to make your own decisions about care, even when you cannot actually communicate those decisions. One is the use of a living will, or advanced care directive.

An advanced care directive allows you to be very specific about certain kinds of treatment you want to accept or want to decline. You could, for example, specify that you do not want a machine to breathe for you or that you don’t want a feeding tube to be used to provide you with nutrition if you cannot consume food. You could also make clear that you do want these types of treatments in certain circumstances and that you want extraordinary measures to be used to prolong your life.

Another way you can take control over medical decisions and avoid unwanted care is to name a healthcare proxy. When you name a healthcare proxy, you designate a particular person to act on your behalf and make decisions for you if you cannot communicate your preferences and haven’t expressed a specific preference in advance. Since it is uncertain what types of medical decisions you may need to make in the future, an advanced care directive cannot possibly cover every kind of decision you might need to make. Your healthcare proxy you designate will make decisions for you when you cannot.

By choosing a healthcare proxy, you ensure that someone who understands your wishes and shares your values will be the person who makes choices for you. You don’t have to worry about your family fighting over the kinds of care you should get or worry about a judge appointing someone who won’t make the choices you’d prefer on care. You get to be in control, even if you cannot speak for yourself, by virtue of choosing a person who you believe will act appropriately on your behalf.

Getting Help from an Elder Law Lawyer

An elder law lawyer at The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. can provide you with the personalized help you need to make advanced plans for your medical care. When you want to ensure that you are the person who makes choices about care in an emergency, you need to act in advance and make your preferences known.

You can give us a call at 585-374-5210 or contact us online to get personalized help making your advanced plans for care.