Most people don’t think about having a personal directive when they’re young. However, it is a vital piece of legal paperwork that you should complete. Without a personal directive, your loved ones may be under tremendous stress to make life changing medical decisions for you if you are incapacitated.

What is a personal directive?

A personal directive is a legal document you make in case you are unable to make your own personal decisions in the future. 

The types of decisions covered by a personal directive are non-financial in nature. If you want to appoint someone to make financial decisions for you, then you will need a power of attorney document.

In a personal directive, you typically outline decisions related to your healthcare, accommodation, activities, and other legal matters that do not relate to your estate. 

Furthermore, you usually appointment an agent to carry out what you have outlined in your personal directive. If your personal directive does not specify what needs to be done in a certain situation, then your agent is allowed to make that decision on your behalf.

Personal Directive Example

An example of what is covered in a personal directive would be as follows.

  • Appoint your spouse as your agent
  • Determine who decides that you have lost your capacity to make decisions (usually medical professionals)
  • Outline decisions such as what to do if you are in a coma, whether you want pain medication that may dull your consciousness, and whether you would be open to experimental medical treatment
  • Provide guidance on if you would be open to living in a long term care facility

As you can see, these decisions are deeply personal in nature, and you should put lots of thought into what you want to happen in case you are incapacitated. Your agent should be someone who knows you well, and can reasonably guess at what your wishes would be if they are not explicitly stated in the personal directive.

What’s the difference between power of attorney and personal directive?

Power of attorney (POA) relates to financial matters and personal directive (PD) relates to personal choices such as healthcare.

For example, your attorney cannot make the decision to take you off life support but an appointed agent from your personal directive can.

For advice on power of attorney, personal directive, and wills you should contact a local lawyer as they will be familiar with the applicable laws in your region.

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