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Category: living will

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Fates Worse than Death

Old-couple[1]A new survey of elderly patients reveals that for many of them death is preferable to living under certain conditions.

Medicine has traditionally been focused on trying to keep patients alive, with the notion being that dying is the worst thing that can happen to someone. However, it has always been known that not everyone agrees.

Many terminally ill patients have sought ways to end their own lives and they now have the right to do so in a few states. A new study reveals that it is not just the terminally ill who might prefer death.

Fox News Health reported on the survey in “What's worse than death? Dementia and breathing machines, patients say.”

Elderly patients were asked about a wide range of possibilities and whether they viewed them as worse than death.

Conditions such as being confined in a wheelchair and being at home all day were seen as preferable to death by the majority of those surveyed. However, a wide range of conditions were seen as worse by a majority, including having dementia, incontinence, needing a feeding tube and being unable to get out of bed. The survey was conducted of a very small group of elderly patients who had serious illnesses so it might not be representative of a larger sample.

Anyone who is concerned about living with a condition they think would be worse than death should visit an estate planning attorney to get a living will. This document will allow you to give advanced directives to doctors about treatments not to give you if you become terminally ill with no chance of recovery.

Reference: Fox News Health (Aug. 2, 2016) “What's worse than death? Dementia and breathing machines, patients say

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Estate Planning Documents You Need

Attractive Mixed Race Couple SmilingEveryone needs an estate plan, and every estate plan will contain a mix of different documents depending on the complexity of the estate assets and individual preferences. However, there are a few documents that everyone needs.

Estate plans come in all shapes and sizes. Some are extraordinarily complex and contain thousands of pages of legal documents. Other estate plans contain only a few basic documents. One of the interesting things about estate plans is the documents that make up the simplest estate plans are also part of the most advanced plans. These documents are the basic framework of estate plans. The Chicago Tribune recently discussed what these basic documents are in “Documents you need before you die or become incapacitated.” They include:

  • Will – At its core a will is simply a legal document that declares how a deceased person’s property that is not disposed of by any other legal means should be handled.
  • General Durable Power of Attorney – A standard document that allows a person to determine who should handle his or her finances in case of incapacity.
  • Health Care Power of Attorney – Similar to the other power of attorney, but it allows for someone else to make medical decisions for an incapacitated person.
  • Living Will – Gives prior instructions to medical personnel about what means should be used to prolong a person’s life in the event that the person is terminally ill with no chance of recovery and unable to give instructions at the time.

Meet with an estate planning attorney at Profit Law Firm, PLLC to determine what additional documents you may need.

Reference: Chicago Tribune (July 25, 2016) “Documents you need before you die or become incapacitated”