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Will Articles
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The Living Will - Your Right -
Your Choice
Every person has the right to self-determination, especially when it
comes to the subject of health care.
This right encompasses both the decision to refuse, or accept, a
particular type of treatment. It may it be as simple as an
oral medication or as complicated as a surgical procedure, but you have
the right to choose.
An individual who is of sound mind and above 18 years of age is also
entitled to plan and prepare an advance directive concerning future
medical care in the event of a serious infirmity or vegetative state.
He or she may convey certain wishes through the use of a living will.
Simply, the living will is a legal file that informs your immediate
family and your doctors concerning your preferences about life-support
measures. These specialized group of medical treatments could include
artificial respirators and tube feeding – all of which aim to
prolong life with no definite hope of reinstating quality. The
high-tech machines and gadgets may target and support specific organs
in the body such as the lungs, kidneys, or the heart.
Normally, the orders which are laid out in a living will becomes
effective as soon as two qualified doctors, one of whom should be the
attending physician, both concur in writing that the patient is either
in a permanent/irreversible vegetative condition or close to death.
Needless to say, it should be established that the individual is
definitely incapable of expressing health care decisions at that time.
In case you should happen to have a change of heart after completing a
previous living will, you may effect the desired alterations in the
legal document at any time. You can even call the whole thing off if
you feel compelled to do so.
On the other hand, you must follow certain procedures for the
cancellation of a living will. State laws, with regard to living wills
and advance directives, typically regulate this lawful action.
Once completed and duly signed, the living will should be kept in a
safe location where you and your immediate family can easily get hold
of it. Therefore, storing this legal document in a secured deposit box
is never a good idea.
You should also inform your lawyer, if you have one, as well as your
next of kin, about the existence and whereabouts of your living will.
In addition, your attending physician and health care provider should
be notified and instructed in making the document a part of your
permanent hospital records.
In fact, these days, most hospitals will ask if you have a living will
at the time of treatment or admission. My mother is 93 and I
know this from recent experience.
Living Will Vs.
Power of Attorney
A living will is activated only when death is imminent or when a
patient falls in a persistent vegetative condition and has lost all
faculties of communication. It only handles the application or removal
of life-support measures.
On the other hand, a durable
power of attorney works in a somewhat different way. It
basically goes into effect when a patient becomes incapacitated and
unable to make autonomous health care determinations. However, he or
she does not have to be in a vegetative state or in a near-death
condition.
The power of attorney also allows a surrogate to speak in behalf of the
patient and to make the necessary health care decisions. Unlike a
living will, the determinations are not restricted to life-prolonging
treatments. The type and extent of decisions a surrogate can make
essentially depends on your preferences.
It is not compulsory to have both documents, a power of attorney and a living will.
However, if you do decide to have both, you should make sure that their
instructions don’t clash. However, having both the living
will and the power of attorney is your right and not a
privilege granted only to special people.
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