- The need for advance directives and the value of long term care insurance.
- Long term care insurance is the subject of another blog.
An advance directive allows you to avoid a court, a doctor or board of directors of a hospital imposing their will and agenda that may be contrary to your formally unexpressed wishes.
By now, most of you have heard of Terri Schiavo. When she was 23 she made certain statements to her husband and friends that she did not want extraordinary measures taken to prolong her life should something happen to her. Something did happen. She spent 13 years in a vegetative state in a hospice center after she collapsed in her home and experienced cardiac arrest.
Given the lack of a living will, a trial was held during the week of January 24, 2000, to determine what Schiavo’s wishes would have been regarding life-prolonging procedures. Testimony from eighteen witnesses regarding her medical condition and her end-of-life wishes was heard. Michael claimed that Schiavo would not want to be kept on a machine where her chance for recovery was minuscule.
The litigation that ensued on this matter for 13 years and which tore Ms. Schiavo’s family and the nation apart all could have been avoided had she only prepared an advance directive.
To those of you who already have an advance directive, new legislation in California makes it desirable for you to execute new health care powers of attorney. The legislation now directs that a living will form state in detail when they are to go into effect. Specifically, it states that “end-stage condition, “ “vegetative state” and “terminal illness” be defined and that the language of the statute be used.
Old living wills should still be allowed but doctors and hospitals will be looking for the new language. One would not want an argument with the doctor or hospital about the effectiveness of the form when one is in crises. Thus, it is best for you to make new forms.
We have just covered the why’s of advance directives.
We also have an Advance Directive Package containing “Do It Yourself” forms.
