Hi, I’m Alex. I’m an estate planning attorney. And today we’re going to be talking about Living Wills.
A Living Will is the document that tells your doctors and your Healthcare Power Of Attorney whether you want to have your life artificially prolonged. It’s a key piece of your estate planning portfolio because it helps your Healthcare Power Of Attorney understand what decisions you would want them to make in a very difficult situation.
It also helps reduce conflicts, especially in blended families. A spouse might have already had the conversation that they don’t want to be put on machines to prolong their life if it doesn’t improve their quality of life, while their children may feel that any opportunity to keep mom or dad around for longer is worth the chance. The Living Will allows the Healthcare Power Of Attorney to make the decision, and then point to the document to show that mom or dad really wanted this.
It won’t prevent all conflicts, but it can help bring some closure. Remember, doctors are going to doctor. They want to keep people alive. That’s kind of their whole thing.
So whoever your Healthcare Power Of Attorney is, they need to be proactive and discuss the Living Will with doctors and ensure that they follow what the document says.
Finally, let’s talk about what a Living Will doesn’t do. It doesn’t prevent doctors from inducing a coma for short term care, for things like reducing swelling in the brain, if they think that’s going to assist in your recovery. A Living Will is really laser focused on making sure that you pass without having invasive procedures done that don’t enhance your quality of life.
But I want to know what you think about all of this. Have you had an experience with a Living Will, or have you had an experience where a Living Willl would have helped? Let me know in the comments below.
That’s all the time we have for today. I’m Alex with RetirementHelp.com. See you soon.
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