3 Serious Health Questions You Must Answer Before Others Do - When You Can't

Accidents, strokes, heart attacks, and dementia can put you at the whim of someone else's decisions about your health care. And those decisions may not be to your liking.

To keep control of your own health-related decisions when you become incapacitated you must create distinct medical directives that answer how you'll be treated when incapacitated, when relying on life-sustaining equipment, and when you should be resuscitated. In the following I explain what each of these directives mean.

For those at retirement age, an important part of estate planning includes determining how you'll be treated while you're living. We're living longer all the time. That means we have a greater chance of slipping into dementia. But heart attacks and stokes can also force us into degree of mental incapacity. So at one point before it's all over, you may well be subjected to health care decisions of one sort or another when you can't communicate what you want.

Three key health-care related questions that you need to answer for all to know while you're mentally competent to do so are:

* When you require life-sustaining measures to keep you alive, what would you consider as too excessive in your case?

* What health-related treatment would you like in your case when you become incompetent to make such decisions?

* If you're found to be technically dead, should you be resuscitated in your situation?

These generally require distinct answers. You do that by creating a medical directive document that answers that question. You may create a medical directive that incorporates different documents each directed to a different health-related condition. The exact documents you'll need depend on your state's laws and the choices you make. But here's the usual name and directive of document that addresses each question:

Your answer to life-sustaining measures is given by your Living Will:

A Living Will gives your instructions regarding treatment when you become terminally ill or are in a persistent vegetative state and unable to communicate. It states under what conditions your life-sustaining treatment should be terminated. So, if you don't want life-sustaining treatment when recovery is hopeless, draw up a living will in which you express your wishes to your doctors when they're considering use of life-sustaining measures. This is your declaration on what life-sustaining medical treatments you will (or will not) be allow if you become incapacitated. For example, you may request that artificial nourishment be withheld if you become terminally ill.

Your answer to the health care you should receive when you're incapacitated is your Health Care Proxy (or Medical Durable Power of Attorney):

A health care proxy takes effect only when you require medical treatment and your physician determines that you can't communicate your wishes concerning treatment. In this document you appoint someone to act as your agent for medical decisions. It gives a person you designate permission to make health care decisions on your behalf if you are unable to do so in the future - perhaps decisions consistent with your living will. You must execute this document when you're competent. Executing a health care proxy ensures your instructions will be carried out.

Your answer to whether or not you should be resuscitated is your Do Not Resuscitate Order (DNR):

A DNR says that if you're having a medical emergency such as a heart attack or stroke, medical professionals may not try to revive you. Realize that this is different from a living will which only goes into effect if you're in a vegetative state. Everyone can benefit from a living will while DNRs are only for very elderly or frail patients for whom it wouldn't make sense to resuscitate.

As you answer each of these questions, consider also who you can appoint to carry out your wishes. Talk to the person before appointing him, and be sure he or she understands and is comfortable with your wishes, and that he's strong enough to carry them out despite some family members' objections.