Medical technology has made possible the artificial prolongation of human life. Prolonging life for persons with
a terminal condition, a coma, or in a persistent vegetative state may cause loss of patient dignity and unnecessary pain and
suffering, while providing nothing medically necessary or otherwise beneficial to you the patient.
Drafting a will, a living will and a power of attorney for health care, also known as a health care directive has
probably ocurred to you on ocassion but for one reason or another, you've probably put it off.
Finding and working with any lawyer can be a joyless task, especially if you are trying to locate one willing
to draft what some consider dull, routine and commonplace documents.
Your personal attorney should be willing to answer your questions, explain the documents and otherwise draft them
for you without it costing an arm and a leg, nor should you feel like you are being stampeded through the process.
If you have been wisely saving, carefully investing and actively plannning for your future and you have
not executed a will, living will and health care directive, then you have left something very important
to mere chance.
Generally, the financial planning process allows you to comtemplate and plan for retirement, to anticipate
a time of rest and relaxation, a time to experience freedom from everyday conflict and commuter stress, a time
to meander and discover new interests and savor old ones.
On the other hand, the process of making a will, a living will and a healthcare directive require you to anticipate death
and more importantly to consider the time immediately leading up to your death when circumstance may require your
family and friends to cope with doctors, hospitals, nursing facilities, and make difficult decisions about your
life-support treatments in the face of a terminal illness.
By clarifying and making your wishes known now, a properly drafted living will accompanied by a health
care directive will guide the decision making process of your loved ones when you can no longer do it for yourself. It
may not be a pleasant scenario for you to consider, but ignoring it may lead to an even worse scenario
later for those you love.
I encourage you to make a traditional will. I also encourage you to learn more about a living will and
the health care directive. These documents should be incorporated into your plan as important components of financial
security.
I purposefully dedicate a portion of my practice to answering questions, explaining terms, describing
situations and drafting wills, living wills, and health care directives for busy professionals generally pre-occupied
with career, family and future retirement to have given these legal documents much thought.
I carefully listen to my client while drafting these important personal documents. I
provide commonsense answers and suggestions to your questions. Most importantly, you can be certain
that all of your personal, financial and health care information is kept strictly confidential.
