All Adults Should Plan for Incapacity

 The term “incapacity” means the inability to make reasonable decisions regarding one’s financial and personal affairs. Individuals typically are incapacitated when they have a traumatic brain injury due to an event such as an accident or stroke; or experience a mentally debilitating illness. For many seniors, incapacity often occurs due to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, or other diseases marked by dementia. Incapacity can have severe consequences for aging adults and their family, especially if the aging adult did not plan for incapacity in advance. Bill paying, health care decisions, and other personal matters becomes extremely difficult for the family member trying to take care of the ill person. The best way to deal with incapacity is to plan for it while one is still of sound mind.
If a person still has mental capacity, he or she can use a Durable Power of Attorney (DPA) for personal matters, an Advance Health Care Directive to manage health care, and possibly a Living Trust to manage assets. If a person no longer has mental capacity, and they did not plan for incapacity earlier in life, these devices are no longer available. A Petition for Conservatorship may need to be approved by a judge in order to handle that person’s financial affairs and personal care.
A POLST (Physician’s Order for Life Sustaining Treatment) is another form of advance health care planning where the ill person or legally authorized surrogate can express end-of-life care preferences. The bright pink form instructs providers about what to do regarding CPR, comfort care measures, artificial nutrition and hydration, and other important treatments. A POLST must be signed by a physician and is an actual medical order that nurses and nursing assistants must follow. The document is intended primarily for people who are terminally ill as a way to control their end-of-life care.  POLST’s are used along with Advance Health Care Directives, and each legal document has their own important powers.
Every person over 18 should plan for possible incapacity.  Getting the correct legal documents in order before incapacity occurs saves time, money, and heartache later on.
For more information, or to make an appointment, please call the McNamara Law Firm, PC at 661-287-3260.  Additional information is on our website at www.themcnamaralawfirm.com.