Living will and durable power of attorney for health care--what's the difference?

Living Will and Durable Power of Attorney for health care.  Who needs them?  We all do.

If you were injured/ill and could not speak for yourself, what medical treatments would you want done for you?  Would you want to be kept alive on a respirator?  Would you want a feeding tube for artificial feeding and hydration?  A living will is the legal document which allows us to state our wishes about life-prolonging treatments if/when we could not speak for ourselves.  It is only used when you cannot speak for yourself and doctors believe there is no hope for recovery.

A durable power of attorney for health care document appoints a person of your choice who makes those life and death decisions.  You would name a person that you trust (and who knows your wishes) to make the life-prolonging decisions. As with a living will, the durable power of attorney for health care is only used when you are injured/ill and cannot speak for yourself and when doctors believe there is no hope for recovery.  

Each state has its own version of these documents.  For example, Missouri’s version of these can be found (and is free) at the Missouri Bar at http://www.mobar.org/uploadedFiles/Home/Publications/Legal_Resources/Durable_Power_of_Attorney/final-dpa-forms-fillable.pdf  
This information and a copy of the Missouri version of the Durable Power of attorney and Living Will can be found in Chapter 6, All Things Medical of my new book, Caregiver's Guide:  Care for Yourself While You Care for Your Loved Ones.