When our time has come most of us hope to have all of our affairs in order, mend broken relationships, and then die peacefully in our sleep at a point when the quality of our existence dips below what we find tolerable. However, the harsh reality is that less than 10% of us will die suddenly. Most of us will be diagnosed with a serious illness and up to 80% of us will lose cognitive capacity to make our own health care decisions.

 

Planning your future health care decisions is an important part of estate planning. Statistics Canada reports that less than 50% of Canadians have thought about their future health, and far fewer have documented clear directions related to their healthcare preference for their chosen decision-maker to follow if incapacity sets in. 

 

All Canadians over the age of majority (currently 18) are encouraged to participate in advance care planning so that their wishes about future health care decisions, including where they live and what medical procedures are performed, are clearly understood by those who are named as their substitute decision-makers. Many of us mistakenly believe things will just fall into place when health care issues arise. In some cases, this may be true, however the stakes are high when important decisions about your health care are left to chance. It serves us well to provide clear direction to those who may be in a position of having to make life limiting or lifesaving decisions on our behalf. 

 

The responsibility of being named an “Attorney” under a Power of Attorney for Personal Care (“POAPC”) can be overwhelming, this is intensified and burdensome when wishes are unclear. Without clear direction an attorney appointed under a POAPC is left guessing at what specific treatment and care you would want in certain situations. This lack of information can potentially lead to the provision of unwanted medical treatment increased stress, anxiety, and conflict among family members, and a complicated bereavement process for your loved ones after you are gone. 

 

If you, like many people, and have appointed more than one Attorney to act at the same time and have not provided clear direction to your Attorneys then major conflict can result, even if a great relationship exists between your Attorneys today.  The bottom line is caregiving causes stress, stress causes emotional instability, and this in turn causes conflict among your loved ones. 

 

If conflict arises among your substitute decision-makers and attempts to resolve the conflict are unsuccessful, then the health professional seeking consent must involve the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee to take over responsibility of decision-making on your behalf.  Alternatively, one of your attorneys would need to apply to the Consent and Capacity Board (“CCB”) under the Health Care Consent Act to be appointed the sole representative. In other circumstances where your wishes are unknown or your directions are unclear, the CCB may also become involved to determine what is in your best interest or to interpret any previous expressed wishes you may have written or verbalized to your loved ones.  All three scenarios can result in costly legal fees, further family conflict, and you receiving care that does not align with your wishes.

 

Cambridge LLP recognizes the importance of creating an advance health care directive that reflects your wishes and values to ensure you receive the right care, at the right time, in the right place.  We have expanded our planning services for clients by giving them an opportunity to dive deeper into the development of Advance Health Care Directives with a skilled healthcare professional who understands firsthand how the healthcare decision process and dynamic works.