Have You Made Your End-of-Life Plans?

You may remember the long, epic court fight over allowing or not allowing Terri Schiavo to die.  An  article appearing in the Boston Herald on March 30, 2010, reports that five years after Schiavo's death, most people still have not created the legal documents that instruct their loved ones about end-of-life preferences.¹   

How far would you want your care givers to go to keep you alive artificially?  Your wishes need to be spelled out in an advance directive, living will, or Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care.  According to the Boston Herald article, experts estimate that today only 20-30% U. S. adults have such directives.  Not much changed since the Schiavo case.

Plan now — if you have not already done so — on having conversations with your family and significant others about your wants during your final years. 

For example:  How do you want to be cared for?  Where do you want to live?  What efforts, if any, do you want made to keep you alive with the help of machines?  Who should pull the plug? And under what circumstances? 

Then talk to experienced attorneys, such as those at the Law Offices of Julia P. Wald, to put your end-of-life plans into legal documents. 

Call 415-482-7555 to learn how we can help.