Life or Death Choices...
Oct 21, 2024
When the doctor came into the waiting room and told Deborah that taking her mother off life support may be the best option, Deborah was crushed. She suddenly felt trapped. Her breath came in shallow waves. Her chest tightened. And the thoughts ran wildly through her mind: "I can't do this. It isn't fair. I don't know how I will ever be able to live with myself no matter what I choose ..."
It's a story we often hear in this profession. Most people have strong feelings about whether or not we want to be on long-term life support in the event that something catastrophic happens. But few take the time to make their wishes clear on paper. This wouldn't be such a problem, except that the emotional blowback for such inaction can be crippling for our families.
Deborah's situation is not uncommon, and when you think about it, her story is the real tragedy. For a child to be forced to choose whether her parent lives or dies is horrific. It's an emotional scar Deborah, and others like her, may carry for life. It’s shocking just how many people carry guilt that they somehow “killed a parent” by being forced to make this awful decision, even if they were told by the parent that being taken off life support what they would want. The good news is that there are some relatively simple legal documents that can be added to your estate plan that will allow your children or heirs to avoid the emotional fallout Deborah suffered.
Those documents are called Living Wills.
Despite its somewhat confusing name, the living will is a legal document that establishes what is known as "your right to die"-your right to be taken off life support when your chances of survival are minimal. It makes your wishes regarding the use of life support explicit so the hospital knows whether or not they should keep you on life support indefinitely, or take you off, even if doing so may lead to your death. While this was sometimes a legally contentious issue in the past, today most states recognize the living will and a person's right to die. There is usually little debate in these cases, as long as your wishes are made clear. That's where the living will comes in. Adding a living will to your estate plan clarifies your desires, eliminating the possibility of putting your children in the same awful position Deborah was in. That is why a living will is a standard part of all my law firm’s estate plans.
It may be uncomfortable to think about yourself at the end of your life hooked up to a life support system. But that's exactly why YOU should be the one to think about it and make your wishes explicit so you don't pass on this discomfort to your children. For some the idea of being hooked up to a machine that keeps you alive is macabre. For others, it provides hope that a medical miracle will provide a few more days to enjoy life. Whether you are of the school that would want to be disconnected immediately or hold on indefinitely, making your wishes explicit and legally executable by putting the right documentation in place is a critical step in creating a complete estate plan.
For more information on living wills and standard estate plans, check out the free information at http://www.FreeSimpleWillGuide.com or if avoiding probate is also an issue for you, please check out the materials at http://www.FreeTrustCourse.com.
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