HEALTH CARE DIRECTIVES IN NORTH CAROLINA

What Are Health Care Directives in North Carolina and Why Every Individual Should Create One

CHERYL K. DAVID North Carolina Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney

One of the most important lessons that estate planning attorneys teach their clients is that its never too late, or too early, to begin the estate planning process. This is especially true when it comes to advance health care directives, also known as advance directives or medical directives. An advance health care directive is simply a specific kind of legal document in which you state your medical preferences. Should you one day become unable to express your choices or are otherwise incapacitated, your advance directives serve to tell your doctors the kinds of healthcare you do or dont wish to receive. ADVANCE DIRECTIVES IN NORTH CAROLINA There are several types of advance health care directives available to people living in North Carolina. All of these documents are optional, and you are never under any obligation to create them. Further, anyone who chooses to create an advance directive can always change or modify those directives at a later date as long as they remain mentally capable. If you choose to create advance directives, you can create one or more of the following. Health Care Power of Attorney. If you only get the chance to make one advance directive, it should probably be a health care power of attorney. When you create a power of attorney you create a document that gives your decision-making abilities to someone else. That person, called your agent or your attorney-in-fact, gets to make health or medical choices for you. With a health care power of attorney you get to name an agent who can talk to your doctors, review your medical records, and make health care decisions for you when you are incapacitated. The person you select can be almost anyone you like, and you can include alternate selections just in case the first person is unable or unwilling to serve.

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Health Care Directives in North Carolina

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Advance Directive for a Natural Death. Commonly referred to as a living will, and advance directive for natural death state your wishes about the kinds of care and treatment you do or do not wish to receive should you be suffering from a terminal medical condition. Through this directive many people choose, for example, to refuse life-sustaining or reviving treatments such as cardiopulmonary respiration, or CPR. You can make a living will in addition to any other health care directives you create. So, for example, you can create a living will that states your health care decisions, but also create a health care power of attorney that appoints an agent who can make decisions about choices you did not specifically address in the living will.

Advance Instruction for Mental Health Treatment. If you one day receive treatment for a mental health condition you can use an advance instruction for mental health treatment to guide your physicians. When people are treated for mental health problems, they can often express choices about the kind of care they wish to receive. Normally, physicians have to honor these choices because people are capable of refusing any kind of medical treatment. However, if a court ever deems you to be mentally incapacitated, you dont have the legal ability to make your own choices. This is very common in many situations where people are treated for mental health problems. So, to make your choices known in such a situation, you can create an advance instruction for mental health treatment and can, for example, refuse to take certain types of psychoactive drugs or be treated with electroshock therapy.

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Health Care Directives in North Carolina

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Organ/Tissue Donor Card. The final type of advance directive is the organ or tissue donor card. You can choose to leave anatomical gifts after your death by stating your preference on your North Carolina identification or drivers license. (If you do this you will see a red heart logo on the identification card.) If you dont have such a card, or if you want to be doubly sure, you can create a separate organ/tissue donor card. This card can also allow you to go into more detail about the kinds of donations you want to make. For example, you can choose to give all of your organs or tissue, or limit the types of donations you want to make. REGISTRATION Any capable adult in North Carolina can make an advance health care directive whenever he or she likes. There is no legal requirement that states that you must file them with any state or federal government body. However, the Secretary of State of North Carolina does provide a service in which you can register your advance health care directives with the secretarys office. Submitting your advanced directives to the Secretary of States office is a good way to ensure that you keep your directives in a secure location, and also a good way to allow your health care providers to access your directives should the need arise. However, registration is never necessary, and even if you decide to register your directives, you can always go back and change your decision later. THE POWER OF CHOICE The unifying idea behind all advance medical directives is that they allow you to make your choices known while you are still capable of making them. In too many situations, someone will need medical treatment after they have become incapacitated but will not leave any directions about the kinds of care or

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Health Care Directives in North Carolina

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treatment they want to receive. In this situation it typically falls to your family members and loved ones to make these decisions for you. In the worst-case scenario, a North Carolina court will have to get involved if those family members cannot come to an agreement or have a conflict. Creating an advance directive is simply a decision you can make to ensure that that your family and loved ones will not be left in the dark when they wonder what kind of care and treatment you want to receive.

Copyright 2013.

Health Care Directives in North Carolina

www.cheryldavid.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cheryl David is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, the University of Baltimore School of Law, and the prestigious Trial Lawyers College presided over by Gerry Spence. A former Administrative Judge, Cheryl is certified as an Estate Planning Law Specialist by the ABA accredited Estate Law Specialists Board, Inc. She is also a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Medicaid Practice Systems and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. In 2008, Cheryl received the honor of becoming a Fellow with the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys. The Fellow program recognizes Academy Members who demonstrate advanced expertise and significant practical experience in the total estate planning, trust, tax planning, guardianship, probate and estate administration fields. In order to maintain this advanced expertise, Cheryl takes over 36 hours of continuing education in Estate Planning, Elder Law, and Taxation each year. Also a Financial Planner, she holds the Series 7 and 66 Investment Licenses in addition to both Insurance and Long Term Care/Medicare designations.

Her professional capabilities, together with over 25 years in practice, have combined to bring positive change to the lives of over 4500 clients and their families.
528 College Road Greensboro, NC 27410 Phone: (336) 547-9999 Fax: (336) 547-9477 WWW.CHERYLDAVID.COM

Copyright 2013.

Health Care Directives in North Carolina

www.cheryldavid.com