If you became mentally or physically incapacitated who would you want handling your financial affairs if you could not make those decisions yourself? Who would you want making medical decisions for you if you could not make them yourself? There are three documents that everyone needs to have in place to answer those questions:
- Durable General Power of Attorney
- Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care
- Living Will
Durable means that the power of the person you appoint as attorney-in-fact does not terminate when you become incapacitated. With a Durable General Power of Attorney you can appoint someone to make financial decisions for you if you are unable to make them for yourself. With a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care you can appoint someone to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to make them for yourself. With a Living Will you can designate whether you want to be permitted to die naturally or be sustained by artificial means should you have a terminal illness. The designations you make in your Living Will supersede the powers of the agent appointed to make health care decisions in your Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care. Any estate plan is incomplete without these three instruments. In the absence of a Durable General Power of Attorney and a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care a conservator may need to be appointed by the court to make financial and health care decisions for you.
If you do not have a Durable General Power of Attorney, Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care and Living Will or if you have these instruments but need to update them call our Tennessee probate attorneys today at (615) 829-8259 to discuss preparing these instruments for you.

424 Church St, Suite 2120A
Nashville, Tennessee 37219
Phone: (615) 829-8259