Do you know what will happen if you if you are no longer able to speak for yourself and express your own wishes regarding your medical care? Who will take care of you if you become sick and unable to care for yourself? These are only a few of the most serious questions that people must ask themselves when drafting complete and thorough estate plans.
Care planning is one of the most important aspects of having a complete plan in place, yet many people overlook this step. You may understand why, as it is not pleasant to think about what could happen in the event that you become incapacitated. You may also understand that many people simply fail to see the need to take this step as they are currently healthy and young.
Why do you need this?
You may think that since you have a will that you do not need anything else to have full protection. Life is unpredictable, and you may need care and support sooner than you think. There are many reasons why care planning and certain types of health care planning are beneficial, including the following:
- Care planning allows your loved ones to fully understand your wishes regarding your health care and certain medical decisions.
- Your loved ones will not have to guess your wishes and make heartbreaking or difficult choices about your care without knowing what you wanted.
- Everyone will pass away at some point, and many will become very ill. It is always smart to plan for this contingency.
- You can maintain control over what happens to your body, even if you cannot physically speak.
Some of the decisions you will have to make when care planning are difficult to consider and can be quite emotional to think about. It is often helpful to seek both the counsel of an experienced Texas attorney and the guidance of a medical professional when drafting legally enforceable documents regarding your physical care.
A sustainable plan
You do not have to make these important choices for the future alone. If you do not have an estate plan or think that you may need additional protections as part of your existing plan, seeking a complete assessment of your case is a good place to start. These are important choices that will affect you and your family, and working with a knowledgeable legal ally from the very beginning can allow you to look to the future with confidence.