Coronavirus and Cohabitation: Who Would Make Important Medical Decisions for You?
What a strange time in which we’ve found ourselves. With COVID-19 having a global impact unseen in nearly a century, all of us are re-learning how to go about daily activities and trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy from the safety of our homes. We truly hope that you and your loved ones are safe, healthy, and doing well in light of current events.
Speaking of relationships and loved ones, the current situation we all face poses some unique challenges that unmarried and cohabiting couples may want to consider. Cohabitation among couples is on the rise and marriage is in decline—in fact, a larger number of adults in the U.S. have cohabited with a partner than have married. Yet, almost all states in the U.S. simply do not have family or health laws that afford unmarried couples the same protections married couples receive, and Tennessee is no exception. Marriage creates a legal status between two individuals that gives numerous rights to both members in the partnership, including the right to make certain healthcare decisions for an incapacitated spouse. Alternatively, unmarried cohabitants do not enjoy the same rights afforded to married couples, especially when it comes to health-care decisions for a partner.
Thankfully, cohabiting and long-term couples can take action to ensure that their desires are carried out in the event of a medical emergency. For example, here in Tennessee, legislators passed the Health Care Decisions Act (TCA 68-11-1801) to help people assign healthcare decision-making authority to the appropriate person. The act also provides some means for individuals to inform healthcare providers of treatment preferences. Under this law and existing state law, Tennessee now has four types of legal documents that will help cohabiting and single individuals ensure their wishes are followed during healthcare emergencies.
The first two types of documents simply are a means of communicating what forms of treatment you prefer if you are unable to communicate this yourself:
1. Advance Care Plans (Advance Directives)
An Advance Care Plan is a form that allows your doctors and family members to know your wishes if you are too ill to make medical decisions for yourself. With an Advance Care Plan, you express in writing whether you would like to receive certain life-sustaining treatments (such as life support, feeding tubes, etc.). The doctor refers to the Advance Care Plan if you become permanently unconscious, suffer from permanent confusion, can no longer function independently, or are at the end-stages of a terminal disease.
2. Living Wills
A living will is mainly used in the unfortunate circumstance where you have a terminal condition and there is no reasonable chance of medical recovery. With a living will, you are able to express what types of end-of-life care you do or do not wish to receive if you are unable to communicate your wishes to the doctor yourself.
Alternatively, the last two types of documents grant another person (for example your significant other) the ability to make important medical decisions for you if you are incapacitated:
3. Appointment of Health Care Agent (Healthcare Power of Attorney)
Tennessee laws allow you to appoint your significant other or another individual as your healthcare agent. As your healthcare agent, the other individual has the power to make the types of medical decisions you would typically make yourself if you were able. Importantly, your health care agent would have no power to make any decisions unless a physician determined that you no longer had the capacity to do so. The appointment of a health care agent may be revoked by you at any time, so your health care provider would have a duty to be alert for the possibility of revocation.
4. Durable Power of Attorney
Like a health care agent, a Durable Power of Attorney is someone who can make health care decisions on your behalf if you lack the capacity to do so. However, with a durable power of attorney, you have a greater ability to place limitations on the decision-maker’s power. Also, with a durable power of attorney, you can express certain preferences as to all types of treatments you do or do not want so that your health care provider can know these preferences too. Lastly, with a durable power of attorney, the person you choose as your agent could also make decisions for you in the unfortunate event that you pass away.
While these concepts may not be the easiest topics to discuss, they are still important for cohabiting couples and single people to consider. In the event that you are incapacitated, many issues can arise. Even when couples are married, husbands and wives frequently find their selves at odds with a sick spouse’s family over what type of treatment the sick spouse would prefer. So, you can help resolve many issues for your loved ones and for yourself by creating one of the documents above, and we at Joe Kwon Law are committed to helping you understand these issues and make the best decision for you and your family. No matter what your family dynamic is like, we are committed to serving all of our clients with empathy and acceptance. Contact us today if you would like to talk about the best way to ensure your health care concerns are taken care of if an emergency arises.