Don’t try to predict the future – prepare for it instead
Who do you want to make decisions if you are unable to?
Most of us don’t enjoy having to think about the worst case scenarios, whether that’s the prospect of a life-threatening illness, accident, long-term health issues or having to go into a care home. But unfortunately, we can never know what’s around the corner.
It’s good to hope for the best and prepare for the worst, as sadly any one of us could potentially find ourselves – or a loved one – facing a serious health situation.
One thing we can do is put in place legal protection like a Will and Power of Attorney (POA). Doing so can help to give you peace of mind that, whatever the future holds, your wishes will be respected.
Tony Marchi is principal at ILAWS Scotland, a longstanding company which specialises in Wills, POA and estate planning for clients across the country.
He describes a POA as an “essential legal document” that allows you to give authority to a trusted spouse, family member or friend to carry out financial or medical decisions on your behalf, when you are unable to through illness or incapacity.
Tony explains: “with a Power of Attorney, they can only act with your authority or if you’re unable to do it yourself, so they can never overrule you. It’s not giving away power, it’s putting in place protection behind you.
“If you’re admitted to hospital, the first thing they’ll do is ask if you’ve got Power of Attorney – they used to ask for your next of kin, but now it is Power of Attorney.”
Tony explains that without a POA, if you end up in hospital and the staff cannot legally obtain your permission, they may withhold a medication or treatment that’s deemed too risky. your POA can give this permission on your behalf, which can save precious time in getting you the most effective treatment.
This doesn’t just come into play if you are in a coma, for example.you can be classified as incapacitated, and therefore not be allowed to authorise treatment for yourself, for a variety of reasons. “incapacity can be as simple as you are too medicated e.g. on pain relief, or your temperature is too high – so if someone is running a temperature when they’re in the hospital, then they may be unable to make a decision for themselves,” says Tony.
As well as medical decisions, a POA can also make financial decisions on your behalf when it comes to things like your pension, insurance, benefits or savings. If you face a long-term illness, or if you end up in care, having a financial POA could prove important.
A Will is another document that that can help prepare both yourself and your loved ones for the future, as you can state what is to happen to your estate, finances and possessions when you are no longer here. Tony says:“as well as outlining their parents’ wishes about how they would like their
finances or property divided, a Will also states their funeral wishes. Having these types of conversations can be difficult. Some people never want to have them and never get round it to, but families that come to us find comfort in finding out what their loved one wants for their funeral.”
ILAWS can help you organise both a Will and Poa.together, these documents can make it easier for those you leave behind or who have to care for you, and they can also help to give you peace of mind that whatever your future holds, you have as much protection in place as possible.