Living Wills & Advance Directives
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Living Wills & Advance Directives in Pottstown
Plan for Future Health Care Decisions with Personalized Guidance
An advance health care directive lets you address future medical decisions before illness or incapacity leaves you unable to communicate. In Pennsylvania, this directive may consist of a living will, a health care power of attorney, or a written combination of both.
At Dolan Ray Law, LLC, we guide clients in Pottstown and throughout southeastern Pennsylvania through these decisions. Our attorneys bring well over a decade of legal experience to this work. We review your documents, discuss your concerns, and explain your options before moving forward.
Call (610) 674-1200 to discuss your health care wishes and the documents that may address them.
A Consultation Built Around Your Health Care Wishes
We begin with an initial consultation focused on your circumstances, existing documents, and objectives. You can identify the decisions that matter to you, including whom you trust to act for you and whether your current documents still reflect your wishes.
Our consultation process includes:
Reviewing Your Documents: We examine the documents you bring and identify the health care provisions they contain.
Discussing Your Circumstances: We talk through your concerns, current wishes, and preferred decision-maker so we understand what you want your planning to address.
Creating Your Legal Plan: We explain the available options and develop a plan based on your objectives and concerns.
Health care planning documents work alongside those governing property and estate distribution. A living will or health care power of attorney doesn’t replace a will or trust because each addresses different decisions. Reviewing them together can show whether your broader plan still reflects your intentions.
Discuss Your Health Care Planning Options
We offer competitive rates and can provide an estimate when you reach out. Our contact form is available for questions about a living will, health care power of attorney, or combined advance health care directive.
Call (610) 674-1200 to arrange an initial consultation with our Pottstown attorneys.
What a Pennsylvania Living Will Covers
A living will records instructions about life-sustaining treatment under circumstances defined by Pennsylvania law. The person creating the document is called the principal. It applies when the principal is determined to be incompetent and has either an end-stage medical condition or permanent unconsciousness.
An end-stage medical condition is an incurable, irreversible condition that, despite medical treatment, will result in death. Permanent unconsciousness generally refers to a total and irreversible loss of consciousness and the capacity to interact with the environment, as diagnosed under accepted medical standards. Because these terms have legal and medical significance, their application depends on the facts and the determinations required under state law.
If someone has no living will, state law creates no presumption that the person intended either to consent to or refuse life-sustaining treatment. Unless the document specifies a termination time, a Pennsylvania living will remains valid until the principal revokes it.
Health Care Powers of Attorney in Pottstown
A health care power of attorney designates a health care agent to make medical decisions when the principal is unable to do so. It differs from a living will, which provides instructions concerning life-sustaining treatment under specific conditions established by state law.
The selected health care agent should understand the principal’s wishes and be prepared to make decisions if the principal can’t communicate. Pennsylvania also permits a living will and health care power of attorney to be combined into one advance health care directive, allowing instructions and the appointment of an agent to appear in the same document.
Advance health care directives must satisfy Pennsylvania requirements for eligibility, execution, and witnessing. The proper formalities depend on who signs and how the document is completed.
Important Pennsylvania requirements include:
Eligibility: The principal must be of sound mind and be at least 18 years old, a high school graduate, married, or an emancipated minor.
Signing: A living will or health care power of attorney must be dated and signed by the principal. If the principal is unable to sign, another person may sign at the principal’s direction.
Witnessing: Two people who are at least 18 years old must witness the document. A person signing on the principal’s behalf can’t also serve as a witness.
Revocation: A Pennsylvania living will may be revoked at any time and in any manner. Revocation becomes effective when it’s communicated to the attending physician or another health care provider.
Document Sharing: Copies should be given to the health care agent, physicians, family members, and others likely to assist if the principal is unable to communicate.
