Estate Planning – Healthcare Documents You Need

Key Takeaways

• Create or update a living will that specifies intubation limits in context (e.g., 'only if acute condition like COVID,' not blanket prohibitions), and explicitly authorize experimental medical treatments to avoid hampering emergency care
• Name a healthcare proxy (medical power of attorney) and provide them a HIPAA release form so they can legally communicate with your doctors and make decisions on your behalf—don't assume providers can talk to family members without written authorization
• Add explicit language to your healthcare proxy and financial power of attorney authorizing your agent to communicate and make decisions virtually (via phone, FaceTime, etc.) and holding financial institutions and healthcare providers harmless for relying on remote communications
• Review any pre-filled healthcare forms from the internet carefully before signing; standard boilerplate templates often contain problematic blanket restrictions that don't account for acute medical emergencies
• If you have religious beliefs that conflict with certain medical procedures (like intubation, feeding tubes, or life support), explicitly address these in your living will rather than relying on generic prohibition language