We all face the risk of losing the capacity to manage our affairs and to make our own health care decisions. The prudent way to deal with this risk is to make your wishes known ahead of time, and to give authority to trusted agents to act on your behalf. These are among the most important measures you can take to protect yourself at all stages of your adult life.

Documents that express these wishes in writing are known as Advance Directives. They include the Power of Attorney, the Health Care Proxy and the Living Will. Learn why it is crucial for every adult to have appropriate documents in place, and why a Living Will can be problematic.

You’ll also learn what can happen when these documents are not in place, do not have the appropriate language in them, or have not been properly executed.