The medical power of attorney is a legal document that does the following: 

• Designates a healthcare agent or proxy or attorney-in-fact.  
• Allow the designated healthcare agent the power and authority to make medical decisions on your behalf when you can no longer speak or communicate. 
• Works in conjunction to your Living Will or Directive to Physician, which means the medical power of attorney allows you to make your own end of life decisions while a directive to physician allows or directs a physician to follow your wishes. 
• Absent a medical power of attorney – the courts decide, like the Terri Schiavo case, who has control to make your end of life wishes. 
• Medical power of attorney provides your agent with the power to choose doctors, hospitals, surgeons, surgery, medications, and any other medical decision that you would normally make if you were alive and not incapacitated.  
• Allows your agent to get medical records under HIPAA laws.   
• Prevents some random person or a court appointed private guardian from being appointed.  
• Enforces your wishes and doesn’t leave the decision up to the court to decide.   
• Provides consent or refusal of medical treatment consistent with your moral and core values. 

As estate planning attorneys, we prepare Nevada medical power of attorneys to provide you the control and protection of your own body and medical decisions when you are unable to make decisions for yourself when you are alive but incapacitated.  This provides you and your family with peace and protection so the Nevada courts and judges who don’t know you or your family are not making these decisions.