The Pros And Cons Of Co-Guardians In The United States

an individual is able to understand that he or she (1) has delegated authority to make health care decisions to another person; (2) has expressed desire that the other person exercise the decision-making authority; and (3) knows that the decisions to be made relate to his or her health care. When a health care proxy is designated, it relieves that additional burden on those individuals who reside in a mental hygiene facility. The health care proxy will likely, if not always, be the same individual as the appointed guardian to avoid conflicts of interest and ensure that there are not two different decisions being made by two different individuals. But how much of an impact do these designated health care proxies impact an appointed guardian?

To balance out the pros and cons of co-guardianship regarding life-sustaining treatment is not an easy task, and the law fails to provide any guidance for those that are lead into this type of situation. LIVING WILLS In New York, there is little guidance on the use of a living will, but it is used to express an individual’s wishes as to end of life decisions in advance. Similar to a health care proxy, it is a legal document whereby an individual sets forth their wishes regarding medical treatment. It provides directives if the individual becomes permanently unable to participate in decisions for their medical treatment, including life-sustaining treatment. Enacted by the Courts, rather than legislation, living wills have little guidelines for its use. It is not a document that is reserved for the elderly, and rather is a document that can be used at any age for an individual. Living wills differ from a health care proxy in that a living will allows you as the individual to set out your wishes in writing on what medical treatment you may or may not want. A health care proxy gives authority to another individual to make those decisions for