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Advance Directives

An advance directive is a legal document that tells your family, friends and healthcare professionals the care you would like to have if you become unable to make medical decisions.  Through advance directives, you can make legally valid decisions about your future medical treatment.

Compiling advanced directive does not require an attorney.  However, you should be aware that each state has its own laws for creating advance directives.  There are four advance directives recognized in Texas:
  • Medical Power of Attorney (formerly known as Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care), is a form that allows you to appoint someone (your "agent") to make health care decisions for you if you are no longer able to make decisions for yourself.  These decisions can include (1) agreeing to or refusing medical treatment; (2) deciding not to continue medical treatment; or (3) making decisions to stop or not start life-sustaining treatment.

  • Directive to Physicians and Family or Surrogates (commonly referred to as a Living Will), is a form that allows you to instruct physicians to administer, withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment when it has been determined by your physician that you have an irreversible or terminal condition and you are not able to communicate.   Life-sustaining treatment is a treatment or procedure that includes life-sustaining medications and artificial life supports, such as mechanical breathing machines, kidney dialysis and artificial nutrition and hydration, that is not expected to cure your condition or make you better, and is only prolonging the moment of death.

  • Out-of-Hospital Do Not Resuscitate Order (DNR) order provides you with the right to withhold or withdraw cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or other treatments such as defibrillation and artificial ventilation.

  • Declaration for Mental Health Treatment is a document that allows you to tell a hospital providing mental health services what kinds of mental health treatment you want, in the event you become mentally incapacitated.  A Declaration for Mental Health Treatment form indicates the kinds of mental health services you do or do not agree to (including such options as psychoactive medications, convulsive treatment and preferences for emergency treatment such as restraint, seclusion, or medication).

By creating an advance directive, you are making your preferences about medical care known before you're faced with a serious injury or illness.  This will spare your loved ones the stress of making decisions about your care while you unable to make decisions.  Any person 18 years of age or older can prepare an advance directive.  In order to make your directive legally binding, you must sign it, or direct another to sign it, in the presence of two witnesses who must also sign the document.

Contact our Law Offices today for assistance or counsel on advanced directives for your loved ones.