Thinking about potential health crises that could occur in the future can be uncomfortable. However, suffering a severe injury or being diagnosed with a disabling medical condition represents a possible risk for everyone. Creating an advance directive can alleviate the anxiety and stress of worrying about what may happen to you if you become disabled or incapacitated.
Advance directives empower a trusted loved one and your healthcare providers to implement medical decisions according to your preferences, wishes, and values. Contact Amoruso & Amoruso LLP today for an initial consultation to discuss drafting your advance directives in Rye Brook.
Types of Advance Directives
An advance directive can contain multiple documents that work together to ensure someone can make healthcare decisions for you and that your family and doctors understand your preferences regarding medical care. Examples of documents of advance directives in New York include:
- Health care proxy – In a health care proxy, you appoint a health care agent to be your decision-maker if a physical or cognitive condition incapacitates you. A health care agent’s authority to make medical choices begins when doctors determine you have lost the ability to make or communicate your wishes. You can limit the scope of your agent’s authority by designating specific medical decisions that the agent can or cannot make.
- Do not resuscitate order (DNR) – You can sign a DNR order to inform healthcare providers that you do not want cardiopulmonary resuscitation or other extraordinary treatment to restart your heartbeat or breathing if you go into arrest.
- Medical orders for life-sustaining treatment (MOLST) – A MOLST form informs your healthcare providers of your preferences regarding CPR, ventilators/feeding tubes, or other life-sustaining treatment. A MOLST form is for use by people residing at home, in a nursing home, or in a long-term care setting that is not a hospital.
- Disposition of remains – This document puts an individual in charge of the physical handling of your body after death.
Reasons to Hire a Rye Brook Advance Directives Lawyer
At Amoruso & Amoruso LLP, our experienced advance directive attorneys can help you document your healthcare wishes as part of our signature comprehensive estate planning service. We will walk you through essential considerations as you develop your advance directives, such as who you trust to make medical decisions and your priorities or preferences for medical and end-of-life care.
Why Are Advance Directives Important?
Advance directives can form a critical part of an estate plan by eliminating ambiguity or family conflicts that may arise if you become incapacitated and need someone to make medical decisions. Without an advance directive, New York law will dictate who can make these decisions for you, which may not be the person you want in charge of your medical care. An advance directive can also reduce the likelihood of family disagreements over what they believe you genuinely want.
How to Create an Advance Directive in Rye Brook, New York
The best way to identify the types of advance directives that will be most beneficial for your situation is to consult a Rye Brook estate planning attorney.
At Amoruso & Amoruso, we take a strategic approach to health care proxies. Because your life circumstances can change at a moment’s notice, you need a document that can change with you. That’s why the first page of our health care proxies always states that your health care agent knows your wishes. It seems like a simple statement, but it carries more power than you might think.
Let’s say you drafted a health care proxy a year ago but have changed your mind over the life-saving measures you want to be taken in an emergency. If you communicated those wishes to your health care agent, that first page gives them the authority to make new choices according to your most current preferences.
You can request copies of a DNR order or MOLST form from your doctor. These documents require a physician’s or qualified healthcare provider’s signature.
Utilizing Advance Directives in Health Care Settings
Using an advance directive in healthcare settings may begin with providing your medical providers with a copy of your health care proxy to advise them who can make decisions for you if you cannot communicate the decisions yourself. With your health care proxy on file, your providers can contact your agent if you enter a healthcare facility while incapacitated.
While in a facility such as a hospital or nursing home, you can execute a hospital DNR order. Emergency medical personnel must honor a hospital DNR order during any transfers. However, outside of a healthcare facility, you will need a non-hospital DNR order signed by your doctor.
Finally, a MOLST constitutes a physician order form that will transfer from one healthcare setting to another. You must have a health care provider complete the form and a New York-licensed physician sign it.
What to Do After Preparing Your Advance Directive in Rye Brook, NY
Once you’ve created an advance directive, you should provide copies of your documents to your health care agent, primary physician, and other specialist providers to keep on file. Plan to communicate regularly with your health care agent about your medical preferences, especially if significant changes happen with your health or family circumstances.
Should I Review My Advance Directive Over Time?
As with other parts of your estate plan, you should not simply create an advance directive and stick it in a drawer until needed. Instead, you should regularly review your advance directives every five to 10 years. A regular review can ensure that your documents account for any changes of heart or innovations in medical science that give you a better chance of survival from a disease like cancer.
Life changes that may prompt a change in your advance directives include:
- Marriage
- Divorce
- The death or incapacity of your health care agent
- Your children reaching adulthood or taking a role as your caregiver
- A falling out or estrangement with your designated healthcare proxy
- Changes to your morals or values regarding healthcare or end-of-life care
- Suffering severe injuries or chronic/terminal illnesses or developing severe disabilities
- Moving to a new state
- Changing healthcare providers
- Changes to laws governing advance directives
Reach Out to a Rye Brook Advance Directive Attorney Today
An advance directive can give you peace of mind, knowing that you have a trusted loved one who can carry out your wishes for healthcare and end-of-life treatment should the unexpected happen to you. A Rye Brook advance directives lawyer from Amoruso & Amoruso LLP can help you establish a plan that leaves you feeling confident that your future is in good hands. Contact our law firm today to learn about the critical role of advance directives in your comprehensive estate plan.
