Choosing Your New York Healthcare Proxy Agent

When the average person thinks about their eventual passing, they prefer to think of it happening at home, surrounded by loving family. Thankfully, this will be the case for many Mahopac residents, but it is all too common for someone to pass on while in a hospital or other medical facility after acute distress – and if they cannot advocate for themselves, there is a possibility their preferences may be ignored. Having a New York healthcare proxy can help ensure these serious matters are handled according to your wishes.

Someone To Make Your Wishes Known

A healthcare proxy, defined by New York law, is a document “delegating the authority to make healthcare decisions” for a principal (the person who executed the document). It is not necessarily required to have one as part of your estate plan, but it is highly recommended, because people lose the ability to advocate for themselves as they grow more ill. Some people become legally incompetent; others may simply lose the ability to communicate what they want. Naming a healthcare agent ensures your wishes will always be heard.

While a person may choose their healthcare agent with relative ease – the only real requirements for the position are being over the age of 18 and legally competent themselves – they can also expand or limit the type of decisions their agent will be permitted to make. Certain decisions can be withheld from an agent while allowing them to act on other matters – but the agent must always act in accordance with the principal’s wishes and moral or religious beliefs.

Choosing & Changing Agents

If a person decides to choose a healthcare agent, all they need to do to make the appointment official is to execute the relevant form. However, it may be that your chosen agent declines or is unavailable; thus, it is recommended to nominate a successor or alternate. Agents are not compensated, but they will also not be held liable for their actions. Still, it can be a heavy responsibility for many.

Changing from one agent to another only requires destroying the old proxy form and authoring a new one, except in one exception – New York law holds that any type of bequest or appointment in an estate plan that was going to be given to a spouse is immediately revoked after a divorce. If you still want your ex-spouse involved in making these kinds of decisions, you can simply amend your healthcare proxy to reflect that, but it must be a deliberate choice on your part.

Contact A Mahopac Healthcare Proxy Attorney

A healthcare proxy is easy to execute, but also easy to overlook during estate planning. The Putnam County estate planning attorneys at Meyer & Spencer, PC can assist you in making sure this part of your estate plan is ready and waiting – if you ever have to use it. Contact our office today at (845) 628-0009 to schedule a consultation.

Source:

newyork.public.law/laws/n.y._public_health_law_section_2980