In January 2022, American Academy of Neurology issued a statement related to the treatment of stroke victims. In essence, the statement was a reminder about the importance of reviewing power of attorney and advanced medical directive documents as part of estate planning. Let’s review the two objectives of this directive, which any estate planning lawyer will tell you is great advice:
1. In some cases, the irreversible effects of a massive stroke, which can be as unpredictable as they can be devastating, can be mitigated through endovascular therapy, but such treatments can also result in patients entering a state of medical coma. This is the kind of treatment that often requires consent, which is why it is a good idea to update medical directives. In 2013, a statistical review of endovascular treatments in stroke victims indicated a success rate lower than 40%; most patients ended up facing quality of life decisions.
2. Strokes range from the fatal to the mild; the most problematic tend to be those that fall somewhere in the middle, which means that patients are more likely to be left with onset dementia, paralysis, disability, and dangerous hypertension. This should serve as a reminder for all of us to think about drafting and executing a power of attorney (POA) in case of emergencies.
We tend to think about estate planning as something we should do in anticipation of the inevitable, but we should also think of it as planning for the unpredictable. Not everyone who suffers a massive stroke will have a history of hypertension; quite a few people are completely blindsided by sudden cerebrovascular events that leave them incapacitated or with slim chances of recovery. With all the above in mind, you certainly will not want your loved ones to deal with a stroke in the family and a lack of a proper POA to handle various affairs.
What Happens in the Absence of a Power of Attorney?
If you are able to make it through a stroke with just hemiplegia (partially paralyzed), chances are that you will have a nice shot at recovery. With the right medications plus many sessions of physical, speech, and cognitive therapy, you could recover to a state in which you can read and sign documents such as POAs, wills, trusts, advanced directives, vesting of property, title transfers, and others.
Let’s say your stroke was the serious kind that constricts blood flow to the brain. This is when your chances of recovering are sharply reduced, and you may also be left with onset dementia caused by neurological damage, which means that you would not be able to understand any aspect of estate planning at all. You will not be personally affected by the lack of a POA because of your reduced cognitive capacity; your loved ones and caretakers, however, will certainly be affected.
Without a POA, your loved ones will not have the means to access your accounts, pay your debts, or even come near your assets. If they need to pay for medical expenses, or if they are going out of pocket while taking care of you, the absence of a POA will make their lives extremely difficult and stressful.
A POA executed for emergency situations can make life less chaotic for those you really care about. With the help of an estate planning lawyer, you can avoid all those unpleasant situations that often happen when you least expect them.
If you’re in need of a power of attorney or have other estate planning needs, feel free to contact our office with questions. You can also download a free copy of The Basics of Estate Planning in Alabama, or attend one of our upcoming free workshops.