Personal Directive

A Personal Directive is a document which designates an individual to manage your personal care and health choices. The authority to manage your personal affairs is triggered only if you lack mental capacity to make these decisions on your own. Whether you have mental capacity or not is a decision made by medical professionals.

Creating a Personal Directive can prevent a number of problems down the road. For example, it can save your family from the dilemma of not knowing what medical treatments you would or would not want. A Personal Directive will provide clear instructions to your family or your doctors about the type and level of medical care you prefer. Also, a Personal Directive will protect your family from having to apply for a costly Adult Guardianship and Trusteeship Order. An Adult Guardianship and Trustee Order can take a lot of time before it is received. This is problematic in an emergency.

Lypkie Henderson offers a Personal Directive along with an Enduring Power of Attorney and a Will as a key part of our comprehensive Estate Planning service.