Making Medical and Financial Decisions for Your Partner
To allow your partner to take care of things for you if you can't speak for yourself, you must prepare the right legal documents.
If you ever become unable to make your own health care decisions or manage your own finances -- because of injury, serious illness, or advanced age -- you probably want your partner to step in and take care of you. Unfortunately, members of unmarried couples, unlike their married counterparts, often aren't permitted to handle medical or financial decisions for each other without signed authorization.
There are a few simple legal documents you should prepare if you want to ensure that critical decisions stay in the hands of your partner: health care directives and a durable power of attorney for finances. Without these documents, your partner may face tremendous emotional and practical problems if he or she tries to make health care decisions for you in the event of a medical emergency or handle a simple financial transaction on your behalf when you're not able to. At worst, your health care and finances may be placed in the hands of a biological relative who won't consider your partner's input. And this relative may well make decisions that go against what you want.
Fortunately, the documents you need are straightforward and usually easy to complete.
Health Care (Medical) Directives
Every state has laws authorizing individuals to create simple documents setting out their wishes about the type of medical treatment they want (or don't want) if they become unable to communicate their own decisions. These documents may also name someone to direct their care.
Health care directives are particularly important for unmarried partners, although married people should have them, too, to avoid conflict with other family members. If you don't take the time to prepare them and you become incapacitated, doctors will turn to a family member designated by state law to make medical decisions for you. Most states list spouses, adult children, and parents as top-priority decision makers, making no mention of unmarried partners.
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