What Is an Advance Healthcare Directive in Alabama?

Preparing for the future can bring great peace of mind for both you and your loved ones as you become older. 

The last thing anyone wants to deal with is suddenly falling ill and not having a plan in action regarding medical care and treatments. That’s why it’s a good idea to draw up an advance healthcare directive.

This article will discuss what healthcare directives are and how to choose the right one for you. 

What Is an Advance Healthcare Directive?

An advance healthcare directive is a legal document stating how you want medical decisions made if you cannot make those decisions. This document lets your doctors or healthcare team and your loved ones know what type of healthcare you want and who can make decisions for you.

Advance healthcare directives are designed to help people plan ahead for times of medical uncertainty. This would also include your wishes related to end-of-life care. 

It’s important to note that advance healthcare directives only concern health care decisions and do not affect or involve financial matters of any kind. 

The Types of Advance Directives in Alabama

In Alabama, you can sign an advance directive once you are 19, as long as you are of sound mind and can make decisions for yourself.

Alabama’s advance directive combines a living will and a health care proxy in one document, and your financial power of attorney is separate. Here is how each one works:

A Living Will

A living will is a legal document that specifies the type of medical treatments you desire. This document can be as specific or as general as you’d like to make it. In Alabama, the form has you initial yes or no on a few specific choices.

Those choices cover life-sustaining treatment and artificially provided food and water, both if you have a terminal illness or injury and if you become permanently unconscious.

Living wills include information regarding an individual’s wishes for certain services, such as hydration, feeding, administering antibiotics or analgesics, and the use of ventilators or other forms of resuscitation. 

A Health Care Proxy

A health care proxy is another legal document in which individuals appoint another person they trust to make their health care decisions. Typically, these documents are necessary if you become unable to make your own health care decisions. The health care proxy would also have the same rights to refuse or request treatments following the individual’s wish for medical decisions.

A health care proxy can also be an additional clause to your living will. Just remember, a proxy should be someone that you can trust to follow through with your wishes.

A Durable Power of Attorney

A durable power of attorney (DPOA) is usually a financial document. It covers medical decisions only if it expressly grants health care powers.

The difference between a DPOA and a proxy is that a DPOA allows the appointed individual to conduct financial transactions. For example, your agent can make bank withdrawals, transfers, or deposits, pay your bills, and even apply for disability benefits.

Deciding on an Advance Healthcare Directive and Proxy

When deciding on an advance healthcare directive, one of the most important things to remember is that you can always make changes to the documents later. A complete plan usually includes both an advance directive and a financial power of attorney.

The type of directive you choose should reflect your interests. In Alabama, the document takes effect when your doctor finds you can no longer direct your own medical care and two doctors find that you are terminally ill or injured or permanently unconscious. Your wishes will determine what happens next.

Therefore, it’s also crucial to plan ahead. This includes speaking with your doctor and preferred hospital or healthcare center to ensure that they can provide you with the kind of care you would want.

Arguably one of the most critical aspects of deciding on an advance healthcare directive is deciding whether or not to have a proxy and who should serve in that role. If you choose to appoint a proxy, you must make sure that it’s someone you can trust.

You’ll also need to think about how much authority your proxy will have over your medical care. Will they be entitled to make a range of decisions or only a few specific ones regarding your care? 

It’s also a good idea to name an alternate proxy in case your first choice cannot serve. You might also want one family member to handle your finances under your power of attorney while your spouse makes the medical decisions. 

Making it Official 

While you can write an advance healthcare directive on your own, it’s essential to involve two people: Your doctor and a lawyer. 

Your doctor can help you understand the various medical decisions and procedures that may come up in the future. They can also take a look at your family’s medical history to help you determine what should be included in your directive.

It’s a good idea to consult with an Alabama estate planning attorney regarding the legal aspects of the document, especially if you’re appointing a health care proxy or drawing up a living will.

Sarah S. Shepard can help you prepare and properly sign your advance directive, and record it with the probate judge if you wish. Schedule a consultation with Sarah to talk through the choices the Alabama form asks you to make.