Are health care directives and powers of attorney a good idea?
Domestic partners should establish agency agreements that include powers of attorney covering financial matters, living wills, and advanced medical directives whenever appropriate. The ever-present threat of accident or illness should incline everyone to provide appropriate direction in the event of their incapacitation, but gay individuals are especially in need of these protections. A gay person may have special needs for privacy, or may be very uncomfortable with an unknown physician, or may find him or herself in a care facility unfriendly to gays. Documents that appoint an agent to make medical decisions for another, known as the health care proxy or durable health care power of attorney, are now recognized in all jurisdictions, and many states provide simple forms and encourage their use. Powers included in many standard documents include the power to consent to or refuse treatment, to withhold or withdraw artificial nutrition or hydration, to make decisions on pain relief, to de
