The Importance Of Expressing Wishes Clearly To Your Health Care Surrogate

One question we are often asked by clients is how specific they should be regarding their wishes about medical care, including tests, medications, surgical procedures, and heroic measures during a serious illness or crisis situation, in their Estate Planning documents. Our answer is that you are wise be prepared with the standard documents, but in addition to express yourself clearly and directly about your medical treatment preferences in person and/or in writing to the person(s) you select as your Health Care Surrogate. Their goal as your Health Care Surrogate is to carry out your wishes, so they need to know what you would want under different scenarios. Also, it is important to tell them if you have changed your mind about anything, before you end up in a crisis situation that could make clear communication difficult.