If you were suddenly unable to make your own medical decisions tomorrow, would your family know who is legally allowed to decide for you, or what you would actually want done? Most people in Queens assume a spouse or adult child can simply step in. That assumption is often wrong, and it is one of the most common gaps I see when I sit down with clients from Flushing to Jamaica to Forest Hills. We walk through exactly how these documents work, and how our firm handles them, on our page covering health care proxy and living will planning.
Two Documents, Two Different Jobs
A health care proxy is authorized under New York State Public Health Law Article 29-C. It lets you name a health care agent who can step in and make medical decisions the moment you lose the capacity to make them yourself. It does not tell that agent what to decide. It only tells the hospital who is allowed to decide.
A living will fills that gap. New York has no statute governing living wills directly; their authority comes instead from case law requiring that your end-of-life wishes be proven by clear and convincing evidence. A living will is your own written statement of which treatments you would want, or refuse, if you became terminally ill or permanently unconscious. It names no agent. It simply speaks for you.
Why Queens Families Need Both
That is why I advise nearly every client across Queens, whether they live near the Surrogate’s Court in Jamaica or out toward Bayside, to execute both documents together rather than choosing one. The proxy gives someone legal authority to act. The living will tells that person exactly what to do with it. Without both, doctors and family members are often left guessing during the worst possible moment, and I have watched that uncertainty create real conflict inside families who otherwise agreed on everything.
If you skip this step, New York’s Family Health Care Decisions Act steps in and assigns a decision-maker from a fixed legal order, starting with a spouse, regardless of whether that reflects your actual wishes. Neither a health care proxy nor a living will requires a courtroom, and both can be revised whenever your circumstances change.
If your loved one in Queens does not have a health care proxy or living will in place, contact Roman Aminov today for a free phone consultation.
Contributed by Dan Rose, a local business writer specializing in Advance Directive and Health Care Planning services in New York City.
Roman Aminov Estate Law firm of Queens
147-17 Union Tpke, Kew Gardens Hills, NY 11367, United States
P59P+93 Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, NY, USA
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