Can A Person With Health Care Proxy Override A Living Will?

A proper estate plan should be truly comprehensive. It should provide adequate protection to you and your family regardless of what tomorrow might bring—and that includes planning for health care needs and the risk of incapacity. For most people, this means adding a Living Will and a Health Care Proxy  to their estate plan.

This raises an important question: Can your Health Care Proxy override the instructions within your Living Will? In Massachusetts, the answer is “no”—a valid Living Will is not legally binding. Within this article, our Boston estate planning lawyer provides a more detailed overview of health care proxies, Living Wills, and their interaction in Massachusetts.

Understanding Estate Planning and Medical Care Options 

Estate planning may involve the management of a person’s assets  during their life but is envisioned to manage these assets that comprise a decedent’s estate after death.   While the focus of an estate plan may be the assets or property owned by an individual, there are documents that are part of a comprehensive plan that address the medical needs during periods of mental and/or physical incapacitation.  These tools help to ensure that a person’s healthcare preferences are known and respected when they can no longer communicate their decisions on their own. Here is an overview:

• What is a Living Will? A Living Will—also known as an advance medical directive—is a legal document that outlines a person’s preferences for medical treatment in situations where they are unable to communicate their decisions. It specifies what types of life-sustaining treatments they do or do not want—such as resuscitation, ventilation, and feeding tubes. Generally, the document addresses end of life issues and care.
• What is a Health Care Proxy? A Health Care Proxy, in contrast, is a legal document that designates a person to make healthcare decisions on behalf of the principal (the person signing the document and granting the authority) if they become incapacitated. The authority granted and health care decisions that the proxy is given and/or asked to make are not limited to care when an individual is close or near to death.  The authority granted is more comprehensive and can involve decisions about elective surgeries or medical procedures for an individual that has dementia and cannot understand, due to cognitive issues, the nature of the decision or the consequences for such an election.    In that regard, the Health Care Proxy is more comprehensive, as it can address hospice care, but also a decision relating to keeping the principal in his or her home, psychiatric treatment, blood transfusions, care facilities such as skilled nursing homes or assisted living facilities, visitation, medications, and the grant of  liability waivers.   Under the Health Care Proxy and Living Will, the agent is entrusted with making medical decisions that align with the principal’s values, desires, and best interests.

Health Care Proxy Cannot Be Used to Override a Living Will

In Massachusetts, a Living Will is not legally enforceable.  Even though a Living Will in Massachusetts  is not legally binding on your doctors, it gives all your care providers clear evidence of what you want and do not want for care, generally when a loved one is close to death.  Living WillLiving WillLiving WillLiving WillLiving WillLiving WillHealth Care ProxyA Health Care Proxy designates another person to make medical decisions should you be unable to do so, and a Living Will allows you to list medical treatments that you would or would not want if you became terminally ill and unable to make your own decisions. 

Consult With Our Boston, MA Estate Planning Attorney Today

At Fisher Law LLC, our Boston estate planning attorneys are committed to providing solutions-focused legal guidance and support to people and families. If you have any specific questions or concerns about health care and estate planning, please do not hesitate to contact our firm today. We provide estate planning services throughout the Greater Boston area.