Market coverage note: This article draws on sources from both Korea and the United States. Each piece of information is marked 🇰🇷 Korea or 🇺🇸 U.S. in the text to indicate which country it applies to.
When your parents are healthy and clear-minded, preparing legal documents can feel like something other people worry about. Yet when families only begin scrambling for paperwork after a dementia diagnosis or a sudden stroke, it is often already too late. Certain documents carry legal effect only when the person signing them still has the "capacity" to make and express decisions. Simply knowing about these documents in advance can spare your family a great deal of confusion down the road.
🇰🇷 Korea In Korea, the system that allows family members to intervene legally when a parent becomes unable to make decisions on their own is called the 성년후견제도 (adult guardianship system). Designed to provide legal support to adults whose capacity to manage their affairs is diminished by illness, disability, or old age, the system works by appointing a guardian either through a ruling by the family court or through a guardianship contract. The guardian then assists with asset management and personal welfare within a defined scope. One critical point: the fact that you are a family member does not automatically give you the right to manage your parents' assets or act on their behalf in legal matters. Once a parent loses decision-making capacity due to dementia, it becomes legally very difficult for their children to withdraw bank deposits, dispose of real estate, or arrange admission to a care hospital on their behalf.
🇰🇷 Korea Applying for adult guardianship involves filing a petition for the commencement of adult guardianship with the family court that has jurisdiction over your parents' address. The application requires documents such as a medical assessment (a written opinion from a psychiatrist or neurologist), an asset list, and personal details of the proposed guardian. If detailed medical records or long-term care grade documentation are available, the court may proceed without ordering a psychiatric evaluation — though if the estate is large or there is a dispute among family members, the court may still require one. Above all, professionals consistently emphasize timing. Rather than rushing to file after problems become serious, it is far better to start preparing steadily from the moment early symptoms appear.
🇺🇸 U.S. In the United States, the documents that matter most are those you can prepare in advance without any court involvement. The two most important are the Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare and the Advance Directive (also known as a Living Will). The healthcare power of attorney designates in advance the person who will make medical decisions on your parents' behalf if they become unable to decide for themselves; the advance directive is a document in which your parents record, in their own words, what kinds of treatment they would want at the end of life. Because these documents are far simpler and faster to prepare than court-supervised Guardianship or Conservatorship, it is important to complete them while your parents are still in good health.
🇺🇸 U.S. In practice, however, fewer than half of older adults have prepared these documents. According to data from the NCQA (National Committee for Quality Assurance), only about 50% of older adults have participated in Advance Care Planning. A study in the journal Health Affairs found that only about 36.7% of American adults had completed an advance directive of any kind. On the other hand, research published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that older adults who had designated a healthcare proxy were less likely to die in a hospital (odds ratio 0.72) and less likely to receive aggressive treatment that did not reflect their own wishes. A single document can profoundly shape the final chapter of a person's life.
🇰🇷 Korea Korea has a comparable system. The 사전연명의료의향서 (advance directive for life-sustaining treatment) is a document in which any adult aged 19 or older can state in advance how they wish life-sustaining treatment to be handled during the dying process. It can be completed free of charge at a registration agency designated by the 보건복지부 (Ministry of Health and Welfare). According to the 국립연명의료관리기관 (National Agency for Management of Life-Sustaining Treatment), the cumulative number of registrants surpassed 3.44 million as of July 2026. Starting in June 2025, a mobile registration certificate became available, and beginning in 2026, the system is set to expand so that the directive can be completed online without visiting a registration agency in person.
In both countries, the essential point is the same: prepare while your parents can still make and sign decisions on their own. After a dementia diagnosis, the available options narrow considerably. Bringing up this topic with your parents may feel uncomfortable, but approaching it as a way of honoring and protecting their wishes can make it a little easier to start. You do not need to have every document finalized today. It is enough to take the first step — learning which documents apply to your situation and reaching out to the relevant agency or a professional to ask.
Sources: 국립연명의료관리기관 (lst.go.kr) cumulative registration data (as of July 2026), 백세시대 (May 2026), 의약일보 (June 2026), 금융위원회 (Financial Services Commission) press release (re: adult guardianship), law firm materials (lawtalk.co.kr, yklawfirm.co.kr), NCQA Advance Care Planning report (2025), Health Affairs (2018, Advance Directives meta-analysis), New England Journal of Medicine (Advance Directives and Outcomes of Surrogate Decision Making, 2010), AARP Advance Directives survey, U.S. Department of Justice Elder Justice Initiative (guardianship data, February 2026), Probate Court Bond 2026 Guardianship Statistics Report.
Note: This article was compiled by AI from the sources cited above. We strive for accuracy, but for decisions about your specific situation, please confirm the latest guidance from a professional or the relevant agency.