Why Should You Prepare Advanced Directives?

Help spread the word that National Healthcare Decisions Day is on April 16, 2014.  The purpose of the day is to encourage people to express their wishes regarding healthcare and for health care providers and facilities to respect those wishes. 

So, in my world of estate planning, I often get asked:  “Do I need advanced directives (a.k.a. health care proxy and living will)?”  I strongly believe that just about everyone should get these documents in place – hence, my normal answer to the above question is usually “Yes!” 

Here’s a summary of what these documents are and what they do:

Health Care Proxy -  A health care proxy is a legal document which designates who you want to make your medical decisions if you are unable to do so yourself.  If you do not have this type of document in place, and if you become incapacitated, your loved ones will need to go to probate court and go through the legal process to get appointed as your guardian so that they’ll have authority to make medical decisions for you.

Living Will - A living will is a self-declaration that includes your wishes regarding end of life decisions (e.g. whether to be kept on life support).  To the extent making a declaration of your wishes is important, this can take a tremendous amount of pressure off of your loved ones and health care proxy agent to have to make this decision for you.  It is a very personal decision on whether to create a living will – note that it is not right for everyone, but for those who want one, it can bring them a lot of comfort and peace of mind.

In addition to getting these documents in place, it is also very important to tell your family and your health care agent what is important to you regarding your healthcare and end of life wishes.  Have the conversation while you are well so that they are not left wondering/worrying and so that they can help make sure that your wishes are carried out and honored.

More information about National Healthcare Decisions Day can be found at http://www.nhdd.org.

Some resources for helping to have the family conversation can be found at http://www.nhdd.org/public-resources/


For more information, Tiffany can be contacted at tiffany@OConnellLawGroup.com or (508) 202-1818.  Additional information is also available on the O’Connell Law LLC website: www.OConnellLawGroup.com.