Unforeseen illness and injury can leave you suddenly unable to communicate decisions for medical care, financial matters, guardianship, and who you want to make these choices on your behalf. Family members must then go to court and ask a judge to appoint a guardian to manage your affairs, who decides without your input. This process takes time as a judge must first determine you are truly incapacitated. Meanwhile, your family may struggle to agree on what course of medical treatment you should undergo. Having a plan in place avoids these scenarios by ensuring that you remain the decision-maker and your choices are carried out.

Incapacity planning can encompass:

• Creating a Living Will that spells out what treatments and procedures you are willing to undergo in certain situations. A Living Will informs other about your wishes should you become permanently unconscious or unable to communicate your treatment decisions.

• Naming a Health Care Power of Attorney in advance to make medical decisions for you when you cannot. You can control the scope of this power by having your healthcare agent make all of the decisions, or only certain decisions.

• Creating a Springing Power of Attorney that would only go into effect once you are incapacitated and would allow the named agent to make property decisions for you.

• Designating a Durable Power of Attorney that allows a named agent to make financial decisions on your behalf even if you are no longer incapacitated. This document allows your financial endeavors to continue even if you are absent or disabled.

Creating this set of powerful documents to address incapacity ahead of time can bring a sense of peace and will help you avoid the cost and time of doing so in a crisis.