• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Kuhn and Kuhn Law Firm

South Carolina Estate Planning Attorneys

  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • About The American Academy
    • Advantages of Working With Our Firm
    • Attorney and Staff Profiles
    • Talkin Law
  • Services
    • Asset Protection & Business Planning
    • Charleston Pet Planning
    • Elder Law & Medicaid Services
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Estate Planning Services
    • Family Farms and Businesses
    • Healthcare Documents and DPOAs
    • Incapacity Planning
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Living Trusts
    • Probate
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Will Packages
  • Reports
    • Advanced Estate Planning
    • Basic Estate Planning
    • Estate Planning for Niches
    • Trust Administration
  • Resources
    • Client Resources – Estate Planning
    • Consumer Resources – Estate Planning  
    • Elder Law Reports
    • Professional Resources
  • Contact Us
    • Directions to Our Charleston Office
  • Blog
Home / Power of Attorney / Medical Power of Attorney / Should I Have a South Carolina Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care?

Should I Have a South Carolina Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care?

February 12, 2015 by John Kuhn, Estate Planning Attorney

Should I Have a South Carolina Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care?

When you finally sit down to create your estate plan you will be faced with a number of difficult, yet important, decisions. Although many of those decisions will relate to the disposition of assets upon your death, not all of them will. For example, you may find yourself wondering “ Should I have a South Carolina durable power of attorney for health care in my estate plan? ” In order to make that decision you need to know what a durable power of attorney for health care is and how one is used.

A comprehensive estate plan should include far more than just a roadmap for the distribution of your estate assets when you die. Additional components to your estate plan may include things such as retirement planning, special needs planning, business succession planning and/or incapacity planning. Incapacity planning in particular is something that everyone can benefit from because no one is immune from the possibility of becoming incapacitated. A durable power of attorney for health care is an incapacity planning tool.

Specifically, a durable power of attorney for health care is a type of advance directive. Advance directives are legal documents that allow you to make end of life health care decisions in advance and/or to decide who you want to make decisions for you should you be unable to make them for yourself.

A power of attorney is a legal agreement that allows you to grant authority to an Agent to act on your behalf in legal matters. When a POA is made durable it means the power granted to the Agent will survive the incapacity of the Principal (you, in this case). A durable POA for health care is a specialized POA that only grants your Agent the power to make medical treatment decisions for you if you are incapacitated. As long as you remain capable of making your own decisions you will retain the ability to do so; however, should you suffer an incapacitating event or illness your Agent’s authority will become effective. You may also include specific wishes, that your Agent must then honor, regarding your health care in the POA document and/or specifically limit your Agent’s authority if you wish to do so.

If you have additional questions or concerns about incapacity planning or estate planning in general, contact the experienced South Carolina estate planning attorneys at Kuhn & Kuhn Law Firm by calling 843-577-3700 to schedule your appointment.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
John Kuhn, Estate Planning Attorney
Former South Carolina State Senator, John Kuhn is a founding partner of the Kuhn & Kuhn Law Firm.The Kuhn & Kuhn Law Firm is a boutique estate planning (wills, trusts and probate) firm, which he and his wife opened in 2002.The law firm was created to serve clients who want an excellent and thorough estate plan.
Latest posts by John Kuhn, Estate Planning Attorney (see all)
  • Preparing for Coronavirus - March 10, 2020
  • Incapacity Planning - December 20, 2018
  • Special Accounts for People with Special Needs - December 17, 2018

Filed Under: Medical Power of Attorney

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Our Blog

Kuhn & Kuhn Law Firm

Charleston
473 Savannah Highway
Charleston, SC 29407
Phone: 843-577-3700

Charleston Map

map for Charleston office

Kuhn & Kuhn Law Firm

Summerville
421 Old Trolley Road
Summerville, SC 29485
Phone: Our Satellite Office

Summerville Map

map for Summerville office

Opening Hours

Monday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Footer

  • About The Academy
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Contact Us

© 2023 Kuhn and Kuhn Law Firm
All Rights Reserved.
Attorney Advertisement

footer-logo

Subscribe to our newsletter

  • Facebook
  • Linkedin
  • Youtube
  • Twitter

© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.

Copyright © 2023 · Kuhn & Kuhn on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in