A living will states your medical treatment wishes if you can't speak for yourself. A power of attorney appoints a person to make decisions for you. They answer different questions — most people benefit from both.
These documents get confused because both plan for incapacity, but they do different jobs. A living will (advance directive) records your choices about treatment — resuscitation, ventilation, feeding tubes — for situations where you can't communicate. A healthcare power of attorney names WHO decides medical questions the document doesn't answer. A separate financial/durable power of attorney names who can handle money, bills, and property. Without them, your family may need a court-appointed guardianship or conservatorship to act — slow, public, and expensive at exactly the wrong moment. None of these documents takes away your authority while you're capable.
No — all powers of attorney end at death. At that point the will and the estate process take over; different documents govern.
Yes, while you have capacity — revoke in writing, destroy old copies, and notify anyone who held them, especially banks and doctors.
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