You have decided to follow your physician’s advice and complete your Health Care Directive thus providing a clear understanding of your wishes as they relate to life sustaining measures. You understand the significance of having a Health Care Directive, but as you research the process you are confronted with a lack of understanding regarding what life sustaining measures encompass. You are confronted with myriad medical jargon. What are life sustaining measures? Life sustaining measures (also commonly referred to as life support) can be defined as, “Any […]
Tag Archives: healthcare power of attorney
Power of Attorney, Guardianship and Conservatorship
We continue to receive lots of questions from elder health care professionals and members of the community about powers of attorney, guardianship, and conservatorship. A power of attorney is a legal document in which one person (the principal) authorizes another (the agent or attorney-in-fact) to act on the person’s behalf. There are financial powers which allow your agent to make decisions for you regarding financial matters, and healthcare powers of attorney which allow your agent to make decisions for you regarding your healthcare needs. Your […]
Living Wills
Though many of us would prefer to avoid it, the right-to-die legal case of Terri Schiavo case has undoubtedly increased awareness regarding the importance of living wills. It has increased awareness—but will it really motivate people to actually sign living wills? Are you going to sign a living will now? A living will is an expression of your wishes regarding end-of-life decisions. If you don’t want to be kept alive artificially, should you be terminally ill and unconscious with no chance of recovery (as decided by two […]