An advance health care directive allows you to specify treatment you do or don’t want in the event of a medical emergency. It also allows you to appoint a medical power of attorney to make any decisions you have not covered. It can be reassuring to know you have this in place.
Yet, unless you share some details of your plan, that sense of reassurance will be yours alone to enjoy. If something were to happen, your family may be left worrying about what to do. That is why it is often wise to tell at least some of them about your plan.
It enables quicker action
Imagine this: A car hits you as you cross the road. The ambulance arrives quickly and whisks you to the hospital, but it is touch-and-go. If your family knows that you have given a particular person power of attorney, they can alert them and tell them to get straight to the hospital to coordinate with doctors.
If you have spelled out in an advanced health care directive that you would accept resuscitation, and told your family this, they can answer the doctors immediately when they ask whether to try and perform it if the need arises.
When you have not made these decisions or not told anyone that you have, then doctors and your family could be left wondering what to do, and delays could have lasting effects.
It can spare guilt and blame
Let’s say the decision to resuscitate is up in the air. If there is disagreement within the family, and the decision is eventually taken not to try, those who wanted it may feel that the others let you die without trying hard enough. They might never forgive them, and those who said no to it may spend their lives wondering whether they made the correct decision. Making your wishes clear now saves them this potential emotional burden later.
Legal guidance can help you understand more about this and other considerations when making an estate plan.