Your Advance Health Care Directive

We understand the importance of educating our clients and making information available to individuals and families in the surrounding communities. The current Coronavirus crisis is impacting each and every one of us and these are very difficult and stressful times.

Our number one priority is to provide information, guidance, and services to our clients on estate planning, probate and trust matters, including the efficient and orderly distribution of one’s estate at death while avoiding costly and time-consuming court proceedings and family disputes.  Many people do not realize that proper estate planning includes the creation of health care directives and authorizations for release of medical information (HIPAA Releases).  We continue to stress the importance of creating wills and trusts to ensure that your property is distributed in accordance with your wishes at the time of your death; however, given the current global Coronavirus crisis and the seriousness of this disease, we would like to focus today on the importance of creating your personal Advance Health Care Directive.  

What is an Advance Health Care Directive?

An Advance Health Care Directive (AHCD) is a document that provides personalized guidance and instructions about how you want certain medical decisions to be made if you are unable to make those decisions for yourself. It allows you to provide specific instructions about whether you want life support measures to be maintained in the event you are in an irreversible coma or persistent vegetative state; whether you are an organ donor; whether you want pain medication to administered even if it had an adverse effect on your health; whether you want to exclude certain individuals from visiting you in the hospital; whether or not you want to be cremated upon death, among other decisions.  An AHCD also allows you to select the person or persons that you want to carry out and make those health care decisions for you in the event of your incapacity.  Providing these types of detailed instructions will ensure that your doctors and other health care providers will make the right decisions for you when you are unable to make those decisions for yourself and will also minimize misunderstandings and disputes among your loved ones at a time when stress and emotions are often very high.  

At Velasco Law Group, we draft powers of attorney, advance health care directives and other important documents that help our clients avoid the necessity of costly court conservatorships when they are faced with serious physical and mental health challenges. With the proper documents, you can designate an individual to make important financial, health care and other critical life decisions on your behalf in the event that you become incapacitated.

Virtual Estate Planning

We welcome any and all questions and concerns you may have. All initial consultations are complimentary, either at our offices or through our virtual estate planning program, which we have recently implemented in response to the Coronavirus pandemic.  For more information on our virtual estate planning services or to schedule an initial complimentary consultation contact us HERE.