When people finally face their biggest fears and respond by doing some estate planning, chances are they will want to express their wishes now as to what happens should they become incapacitated. A "living will" is a document that allows an individual to express her wishes concerning life-sustaining procedures. Does she want all possible measures to be taken while she's in a coma or terminally ill, or does she want them to "pull the plug" if her quality of life is virtually non-existent? That's all that a living will does. If an individual wants to take it a step further, she can appoint someone to act as "attorney in fact" or "agent" on her behalf should she become incapacitated. She can achieve this by establishing a durable health care power of attorney. The durable health care power of attorney grants the agent or "attorney in fact" for the individual the power to make health care decisions for the individual if the individual is unable to do so after an accident or illness.
There are also general powers of attorney that appoint an agent/attorney in fact to oversee your financial matters should you be incapacitated or, perhaps, traveling overseas and unable to manage your own financial dealings. This type of power of attorney can also be made "durable." The individual, with the help of her lawyers, can draft a durable power of attorney so that it is clear when the power "kicks in." Maybe it's when a named physician determines that the individual is truly incapacitated. Or, maybe it's when two separate physicians come to that conclusion.
Whether it's a durable health care or a durable general power of attorney, the test may ask if it remains in force after the individual dies. The answer: no. The power survives the incapacitation of the individual (also called the "principal"), but not his/her death.
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