By the Estate Planning Attorneys at Garg & Associates, PC, serving The Woodlands, Spring, Houston, Conroe, Humble, Kingwood, Tomball, Cypress, Huntsville, Westchase, Southwest, Sugar Land, West Oaks, Alief, Memorial, River Oaks, Stafford, Katy, and Missouri City.

Medical Powers of Attorney

A Medical Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows an individual, referred to as the “principal,” to grant another person, called an “agent,” the authority to make medical decisions on that individual’s behalf. By executing a valid Medical Power of Attorney during your lifetime, you may appoint an agent to make health care decisions for you if you are unable to communicate your own decisions to your doctors. Texas law outlines stringent requirements regarding the content and execution of a Medical Power of Attorney, which should be discussed in detail with the Estate Planning attorneys at Garg & Associates prior to implementation.

Like a Statutory Durable Power of Attorney, a Medical Power of Attorney is not a testamentary document, but rather comes into action while its creator is still alive. The Medical Power of Attorney springs into effect when it is certified by your physicians that, due to your incapacity or otherwise inability to communicate, you are not competent to make your own medical decisions. Having a valid Medical Power of Attorney in place in such a circumstance will allow a trusted person of your choosing to step in and make medical decisions on your behalf with little to no delay in your treatment or burden on your family members.

A Medical Power of Attorney is effective as of the date it is signed, and continues to be effective until revoked by the principal or until a date specified in the instrument. The agent’s powers are only effective while the principal is unable to communicate his or her own wishes (that is, when the principal’s physician has certified him or her as being incapacitated). Therefore, even if you have put a Medical Power of Attorney in place, the agent’s decisions will not override your own if you object to his decisions or regain capacity to communicate your own desires to your doctors.

Texas provides strict parameters with regard to the scope of a Medical Power of Attorney, which should be thoroughly understood prior to execution. It is of the utmost importance to seek competent legal advice from the qualified Estate Planning attorneys at Garg & Associates prior to drafting a Medical Power of Attorney. If the legal guidelines with regard to valid creation of this document are not adhered to, medical institutions may challenge the document as invalid and decline to honor it. Therefore it is very important to contact the attorneys at Garg & Associates to fully discuss the scope of Medical Powers of Attorney, their use, and their proper creation.

Call Garg and Associates today at 281.475.4640 or complete our Contact Form and let us assist you with your wills and trusts.