Posted by Anthony Serra | Jun 03, 2022 |
As we close out Mental Health Awareness Month with our efforts to raise awareness, and in follow up to our last blog The 3 Documents Your Need In Your Estate Plan, in this article we offer information on how to create a fourth kind of document to consider creating alongside your estate planning documents, which is called a psychiatric advance directive (PAD).
A PAD is a legal tool that allows a person with mental illness to state their preferences for treatment in advance of a crisis. They can serve as a way to protect a person's autonomy and ability to self-direct care. Creating a PAD is an essential step to protect your rights and to ensure you receive the care you want if you currently have, or are ever diagnosed, with a mental illness. A PAD is an official document that outlines your preferences for how you want to be treated in the event that you are ever unable to make decisions for yourself.