knowledge topics
Powers of Attorney for Personal Care and Health Care Directives
KNOWLEDGE EXPECTED OF: Both CFP® Professionals and QAFPTM Professionals
- Explain the purpose of a personal and/or health care directive.†
- Explain risks to an individual associated with failing to appoint a representative†† to make personal or health care related decisions.
- Explain the factors to consider in choosing a representative to make personal or health care related decisions, such as:
- Trustworthiness
- Reliability
- Accessibility
- Identify names of documents used to denote that an individual has substitute decision-making power for the personal or health care of another individual such as:
- Power of attorney for personal care
- Personal directive
- Advance health care directive or proxy
- Advance directive
- Representation agreement
- Living will
- Durable power of attorney for medical care
- Explain when a representative’s power under a personal and/or health care directive becomes effective.
- Explain when a representative’s power under a personal and/or health care directive ceases.
- Explain areas of decision-making that a representative named in a personal and/or health care directive may engage in on behalf of the grantor, such as:
- Housing
- Nutrition
- Health
- Safety
- Hygiene
- Clothing
- Explain whose responsibility it is to advise medical practitioners of the existence of a personal and/or healthcare directive.
- When the grantor is able to advise medical practitioners
- When the grantor is unable to advise medical practitioners (i.e. incapacitated)
- Explain events that terminate a personal and/or health care directive, such as:
- Revocation of personal and/or health care directive by grantor, while mentally capable
- Death of grantor
- Death, incapacitation, or resignation of representative and no other (substitute or joint) representative is named
- Court appoints a representative for personal care
- Creation of a new personal and/or health care directive where no clause has been added to maintain the previous personal and/or health care directive
- Identify that a representative named in a personal and/or health care directive may be entitled to compensation for their services.
- Identify that a supported decision-making agreement††† exists in some jurisdictions.
- Identify the permissible activities that a supporter named under a supported decision-making agreement may engage in on behalf of the donor.
† The term personal and/or health care directive also relates to a power of attorney for personal health in this section.
†† A representative is used to denote the individual that was appointed by the grantor to make decisions or act on their behalf for personal and/or health care related decisions.
††† A supported decision-making agreement refers to any document for which the grantor may appoint an individual to assist them in making decisions, while not providing that individual with any decision-making authority.
Glossary of Verbs (mouse over to see definition)
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Define
To state exactly the meaning of
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Identify
To be aware of / to recognize and correctly name / to locate an appropriate resource
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Explain
To make clear the meaning of / to describe something in more detail or reveal relevant facts or ideas related to it
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Compare
To note the similarities and differences between two or more things
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Estimate
To determine an approximate value for
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Calculate
To find the value using mathematics
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Convert
To change from one form or purpose to another
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Evaluate
To reach a conclusion or make a judgement through careful study
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Interpret
To give the meaning of / to construe or understand / to translate orally
Read more about the Taxonomy used in the FP-BoK
