advanced medical directives; advanced medical directive; advanced heath care directive; living will; personal directive; calgary alberta health lawyers

Calgary Lawyers For Advanced Medical Directives

What Are Advanced Medical Directives in Calgary, Alberta?

An advanced medical directive, or advance directive, are instructions that refer to your future medical care in the event that you are ever unable to make your own decisions. They are sometimes referred to as a living will, personal directive or advanced health care directive. They can be written or oral instructions. In order to prove that they are in place in Alberta, advanced personal directives should be in writing. Advance personal directives also need to be legal in order to be binding and valid. This means you will likely want to speak with a advanced medical directive lawyer about setting them up. It’s better to set up advanced medical directives now rather than waiting. If you wait too long, you won’t have much of a choice over what happens to you. The advanced medical directive lawyers at Kahane Law Office in Calgary, Alberta are here to help. Advanced medical directives are normally part of a package that includes a will and an enduring power of attorney.

Why Do You Need an Advanced Medical Directive?

Who should be in charge of what happens to you if you become incapacitated? You want to make sure that you have control over the medical decisions that will ultimately affect your life and well being. If you are incapacitated, you don’t want some outside party deciding what happens to you. You also do not want a well meaning family member to force decisions that you do not agree with on you. When you have an advanced medical directive in place, you are still in charge of any decisions made for your medical care while you are in control of your body and mind. You can receive or refuse any type of medical treatment needed. The only time the directive goes into action is when you are unable to make those decisions. Advanced medical directives also stop fights between family members as the choices of what care you want are already set out by you.

You have a certain set of rights when it comes to your medical health and privacy. You have the right to determine what type of treatment you will receive. The advanced medical directive simply ensures that these rights continue even if you are unable to voice your decisions because you are incapacitated.

What If You Do Not Have An Advanced Medical Directive?

Without an advanced medical directive, your family or friends may be required to make a court application to get a guardianship order. This is a court order that specifies who has the legal right to make medical decisions for you. These orders can take a long time, are more expensive than an advanced medical directive and are subject to being contested by other family members.

Getting Help With Health Care Related Directives In Alberta

Now that you see the benefits that having an advanced medical directives offers and the basics of how it works, it is time to set one up for yourself. Contact an attorney in the area who has experience in the field and who is able to set up your directive, either a living will or a durable power of attorney, to your satisfaction. The legal mire can be confusing to unravel, and working with a quality attorney simply in Alberta makes it so much easier. Having one of these in place will be helpful for any individual. Age and state of current health do not matter. Make sure you are planning for the future, and put one of these directives in place as soon as you can.

Kahane Law Video on Medical Directives

Learn more about personal and medical directives. Our video is short and informative. Click here to watch our personal and medical directive video on YouTube.

Your Advanced Medical Directive / Living Will

Our advanced medical directive lawyers in Calgary can help you understand the complexities of advanced medical directives and can help draft one to fit your needs. Kahane Law Office would be pleased to assist you in all matters relating to powers of attorney. You can reach us toll-free at 1-877-225-8817, 403-225-8810 locally or contact us online for a medical directive to learn more today.