Elder Law

Long Term Care Planning

Wills & Trusts

Advance Directives

FAQs

Newsletters

Living Will?

Modified from an article published in the
Oro Valley News by Paul C. Moors

I'm sure you are aware of the case of a young girl who was in a persistent vegetative state caused by injuries sustained in an accident. There was no hope for any form of recovery and she would never regain consciousness. Her parents wanted to remove the tubes for water and food so their daughter could die in dignity. The hospital would not act without court permission and the court withheld permission because there was no clear evidence of what the daughter would have wanted in these circumstances. The ensuing legal battle made that family miserable for years.

A "Living Will" would have avoided that problem. Any one who has been in a hospital in recent years has probably been asked to sign a living will. It is a document we write when we are in sound mental and physical health, giving directions to the people who will control our lives when we are no longer able to make informed decisions. Those directions tell them what we want done for us and what we do not want done. If we want everything possible done within the limits of modern technology for as long as we have a heartbeat, we can do that. If we don't want heroic measures taken when we are terminal, but do want pain control and comfort care, we can specify that.

There are two major problems with a living will. One is that our legislature designed them for use in terminal situations. The need for someone to make decisions for us can, however, occur at any time and not be associated with a terminal condition. The second problem is that it is a general "to whom it may concern" document that expresses your wishes and does solve the problems outlined above but gives no one the power to specifically act on your behalf. These problems are resolved with a "medical power of attorney". This document has the advantage of being effective any time you need it. It names a specific individual to act for you and grants them all the power they need to stand up to a doctor, force action at a nursing station or pound on a nursing home administrator's desk. It also will almost invariably cover many more contingencies than the preprinted hospital living will form thereby giving much more detail about your wishes.

Inability to express our wishes is not just a problem of the occasional accident victim. We all face the possibility of Alzheimer's disease, other dementias or massive stroke. The time to think about what we would want done in those circumstances is now when we can be rational and make our wishes known. If we don't document exactly what we want, our doctors and families may make decisions contrary to our wants. It is a very loving gesture to relieve them of this responsibility.

Next Page -->