Healthcare Proxy vs. Power of Attorney

• What is a healthcare proxy?
• When should you establish a healthcare proxy?
• How to set up a healthcare proxy
• The importance of choosing the right proxy
• What is a healthcare power of attorney?
• How to set up a healthcare power of attorney
• What's the difference between healthcare proxy and power of attorney?
• Which is right for you? 
• References

A healthcare proxy is a legal document that names someone who can make most medical decisions for you in the event that you are incapacitated and cannot do so for yourself. A power of attorney is similar. It grants a person the power to make financial and legal decisions for you in the event that you cannot.

What is a healthcare proxy?

A healthcare proxy is also called a durable power of attorney for healthcare. If you have a healthcare proxy, it means you have designated someone to make medical decisions for you if you cannot make them yourself.

There are various situations in which a person cannot make medical decisions on their behalf, such as when they are unconscious or otherwise mentally unable. If this happens to you, your proxy can step in and make those decisions for you. 

The position of healthcare proxy empowers a person to get priority to visit you in the hospital and to receive your property from the hospital and any police agency at the time of your incapacitation. They can authorize treatments and procedures for you in the same way you would do for yourself.

The specifics of when a proxy is empowered depend on what is written in the relevant documents. Most proxies go into effect when your doctor declares that you are incapacitated, but you can sometimes alter the condition that causes it to go into effect. To what degree you can alter these conditions depends on where you live. 

When should you establish a healthcare proxy?

It is good practice to establish a healthcare proxy, especially if you want someone who isn’t your closest biological relative to make important medical decisions for you in the event you are incapacitated. 

One common issue is people with romantic partners assuming their partners would be able to make important medical decisions for them but failing to designate their partner as their proxy. In such cases, the romantic partners have no legal ability to make medical decisions for their incapacitated loved ones.

A healthcare proxy becomes ineffective at death. An individual who wants specific things to occur after their death, such as having their organs donated, should make sure to specify what they want in their will. 

How to set up a healthcare proxy

Each state has its forms for healthcare proxies and directives. While the process of designating someone as your proxy varies, you can usually quickly find the steps you need to take by researching “proxy directive” or “durable power of attorney for healthcare” and your state name. 

As a general rule, it is best to set up a healthcare proxy early. You don’t know when you’ll be incapacitated, and setting up your proxy as soon as possible ensures that the person you want to be making your medical decisions can do so. 

You should speak with the individual you intend to be your representative about your desires and expectations. Additionally, while the specifics of this process will vary by state, you will generally want to select one or two alternate proxies in the event that your chosen proxy cannot or will not make the decisions you need them to. 

The importance of choosing the right proxy

A healthcare proxy will get to make major decisions about your care while you’re incapacitated. The idea is to choose someone who will represent your interests. 

Some people may want life-extending care to be given to them indefinitely. Others may want a reasonable amount of care to be given while they’re incapacitated but to have a certain cutoff when revival seems unlikely or their quality of life drops too low. 

A well-chosen proxy can help you get exactly the type of care you would want if you were incapacitated. 

What is a healthcare power of attorney?

A power of attorney is a document that designates an individual as being able to make financial or legal decisions on your behalf. A person granted this power may be referred to as an agent or as a person’s power of attorney. (Note: This term can cause some confusion, as it’s the same as the title of the document granting them their authority.)

There are four types of power of attorney, which can be combined in ways that will be explained in the next section. They are as follows: 

• Power of attorney, which lasts indefinitely
• Limited power of attorney, which grants authority only in specific situations or until its terms expire
• Springing power of attorney, which only begins under certain circumstances 
• Conditional power of attorney, which ends or only lasts until certain conditions are met

The scope of a person’s ability to make decisions for you once granted power of attorney is extensive but not infinite. A power of attorney document can establish some limits on their authority. But they do have the power to significantly alter your financial and legal situation while acting within that scope.

How to set up a healthcare power of attorney

The process for establishing power of attorney depends on the state where you live. You will need to research how power of attorney works in your state, find the appropriate forms, fill them out, and submit them. If you don’t establish power of attorney and then become incapacitated, your state may allow someone other than the person you want to make important financial and legal decisions for you. 

Power of attorney is relatively customizable. You can combine the types of power of attorney. It’s common that a person sets a springing, durable power of attorney in their living will, such that someone has indefinite authority granted to them but only if they become permanently incapacitated. 

What's the difference between healthcare proxy and power of attorney?

There may be overlap, but power of attorney focuses specifically on legal and financial decisions that need to be made for an individual. A healthcare proxy focuses on the medical decisions that need to be made for an individual. 

It’s worth researching the specifics of how these empowerments work in your state. Power of attorney can generally be said to grant a broader selection of powers over you than making someone a medical proxy. However, a medical proxy can make some of the most critical decisions about you when you’re incapacitated, including those that may extend or end your life.  

A person to whom you grant power of attorney can make essentially any legal or financial decision for you as if they were you (while empowered). Their signature more or less counts as your signature. They’re especially important if major financial or legal decisions need to be made while you’re incapacitated, as is fairly common when business owners are incapacitated. 

Which is right for you?

A healthcare proxy and a power of attorney shouldn’t be viewed as mutually exclusive. In fact, there is a strong argument that it’s good practice to grant both of these powers to someone of your choosing in the event you’re incapacitated. 

It’s usually free or cheap to designate these powers. They will only go into effect when the conditions are met. By setting up these documents early, you can make sure your financial, legal, and medical interests are represented in the event of a serious medical emergency.

Both of these documents grant significant power over you when they go into effect. Choose someone you trust to be your healthcare proxy and power of attorney. Schedule a discussion with them to go over how these powers work and what you want them to do for you. 

References