When You Need to Update Your Advance Directives in Texas


When You Need to Update Your Advance Directives in Texas - Asset Protection & Business Planning Lawyer - Dallas, TexasWhile you might know that advance directives form an important part of every estate plan in Texas, you might not know that you need to update these documents on a regular basis. Like other pieces of your estate plan, your advance directives in Texas are something that you can’t simply create and then forget about. Keeping your medical directives up to date and current is necessary, especially if you experience certain life events. You estate planning lawyer will give you specific advice on what steps you need to go through in order to make changes to your directives, but you need to be prepared to make these changes if you experience any of the following.

Update your advance directives in Texas after you have a child.

The types of medical treatments you do or do not want to receive can change substantially after learning that you have become pregnant. Once you become a parent or learn that you are about to become a parent, your views on life can change. This includes your views about the appropriate type of medical care you would or would not like to receive. Once you learn that you are about to have a child, you should take the time to review your advance directives and think about how those choices would not only affect you, but also your family.

You Get Married or Divorced.

When you make an advance directive in Texas you will choose someone who will act as your health care agent should you lose your ability to express your choices. This representative can be almost anyone you choose. However, when people get married they typically want their spouses to act as their representative. Conversely, people who get divorced usually no longer want their ex-spouse to act as their representative anymore. Going through any marriage or divorce will require you to update your advance medical directives accordingly.

You Move

The advance directives you create in Texas are typically valid regardless of whether you later move to another state. However, it’s always a good idea to create new medical directives that comply with the specific laws of your state once you make the move. You can keep the same choices you had made in your original directives, but making the new directives will make it much easier to use them should the need arise.

Your Agent Moves

When people create medical directives that choose a health care representative, that representative will probably need to be located close to you in order to make medical decisions and communicate with your doctors. If that person should move, you’ll probably want to choose someone new who can more easily interact with your health care providers if the need arises.

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