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Book Consultation
984-265-7800
Book Consultation
984-265-7800
Book Consultation
984-265-7800
Clear advance directives reduce confusion during medical emergencies, help clinicians honor your treatment preferences, and ease decisions for family members under stress. By aligning healthcare wishes with financial and legal plans, these documents protect your dignity, save time, and minimize disagreements when swift choices are required.
A unified set of documents ensures decisions at the bedside reflect a single, clear intent, reducing confusion for caregivers and family members during stressful moments.
Our firm focuses on estate planning and elder care, delivering practical, easy-to-understand guidance. We help you create directives that respect your values while meeting legal standards, enabling confident decisions for you and your loved ones.
We deliver copies to your healthcare agent, primary physician, attorney, and a trusted family member, with recommendations for ongoing updates.
A living will records your preferences for medical treatment when you cannot communicate. It outlines whether you want life-sustaining measures and specific interventions, but it may not cover every possible scenario. A durable power of attorney for health care appoints an agent to decide on your behalf if you are unable to communicate. Together, these documents provide clear guidance and practical authority to clinicians and loved ones.
A reliable health care agent should be someone you trust to follow your values and communicate effectively with medical teams. Consider their ability to make tough decisions under pressure, their availability, and their willingness to advocate for your preferences. It’s also wise to appoint a backup agent in case the primary cannot serve.
Regular reviews are important because health needs, relationships, and laws change over time. We recommend revisiting your directives every few years or after major life events such as marriage, divorce, or relocation to ensure the documents reflect your current wishes and circumstances.
POLST is a medical order that translates your treatment choices into actionable orders for clinicians. It complements a living will and power of attorney but does not replace them. POLST is particularly useful for serious conditions or when care settings change frequently, such as hospital to home.
In North Carolina, directives are typically signed with witnesses or a notary, depending on the document type. We guide you through the required steps, ensure proper execution, and provide copies to essential parties to maximize enforceability and accessibility.
Without directives, decisions may default to family members or courts, which can be stressful and lead to disagreements. Having a clearly drafted plan helps clinicians follow your wishes and reduces the burden on relatives who would otherwise decide on your behalf.
Store printed copies in a safe, accessible location, give copies to your agent and physician, and consider digital backups. Make sure trusted contacts know how to reach these documents in an emergency, and update them as needed.
Yes. Directives generally apply across care settings, including hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, and at home. It is important that your documents are accessible and recognized by all providers involved in your care.
Directives should align with your broader estate plan. Changes to assets, guardianship, or guardianship arrangements can influence how directives interact with other documents, so a coordinated approach helps maintain overall consistency.
To start, contact our Dobson office to schedule a consultation. We will review your goals, explain available options, and guide you through drafting and executing the directives. Ongoing support is available to update documents as life circumstances change.
