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What is a Living Will
The Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare
Another document often executed
contemporaneously with a Living Will is the Durable Power of
Attorney for Healthcare ("DPOAHC"). It is a good idea to
have both a Living Will and a DPOAHC because of the
different role each instrument plays. A Durable Power of
Attorney ("DPOA") is a document that people have drawn up to
give someone else the power to handle their business affairs
for them should they become unable to act for themselves. A
DPOAHC does the same thing as a DPOA, but specifically
regarding your medical care.
The DPOAHC allows your agent to begin making
your healthcare decisions for you when your physician
determines that you are unable to make or communicate them
yourself. A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care
is used to appoint an agent to make health care decisions
for you and usually includes the power of the agent to make
decisions regarding terminal conditions and whether to
prolong life. However, if you have a Living Will, the
directions of the Living Will control over the Durable Power
of Attorney, because you have already made the decision of
what is to be done under certain circumstances. Many
people use a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care and a
Living Will because they do not want to place the agent in
the position of making decisions regarding choice in dying.
The agent still has authority to make other health care
decisions for you when you cannot make the decision yourself
in situations where you need medical attention but are not
terminally ill or in a permanent coma.
The North Carolina Living Will
Witness to the Living Will
Effect of a North Carolina Living Will
Revocation of a North Carolina Living Will
Storing your Living Will
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