The Connecticut legislature just passed an updated health care decision making law. Known as "Advance Directives" the law, which will become effective on October 1, 2006 amends and updates Connecticut law on health care decision making by:
1. Combining the authority of the health care agent and attorney-in-fact for health care decisions into a unified proxy known as the "health care representative"
2. Expanding the scope of a living will from covering only decisions concerning life support to include any aspect of health care.
3. Conferring on the health care representative the authority to make any and all health care decisions for a person incapable of expressing those wishes herself.
4. Clarifying that (a) a conservator must comply with the previously executed advance directives of a ward and (b) a decision of a health care representative takes precedence over that of a conservator.
5. Providing for recognition of advance directives validly executed elsewhere that are not contrary to Connecticut policy; and
6. Specifying that advance directives property executed before October 1, 2006 remain valid.
Though these changes take effect on October 1, 2006 it is not to early to review your current medical powers and living will to be certain they conform to your present wishes. If you do not have advance directives in place these are very important documents which should be obtained. Please feel free to send me an email if you have questions about how you can obtain the new Connecticut Advance Directives for yourself and family.
