Regardless of age, individuals should take the time to commit to paper their end of life care wishes. Being involved in an accident or being stricken with an illness is not something anyone wants to think about, but imagine the pain your family will go through if they’re put in a position of having to make end of life decisions for you. It is an untenable position for a distraught loved one to have to make a determination on whether you’d want your life extended through “heroic medical measures” or whether you would have chosen a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) in place.
Just talking with a loved one, parent, or spouse about end of life care issues isn’t enough. Those wishes need to be committed to paper and made legal through the drawing up of an Arizona Living Will. Making a decision on whether you will want your life prolonged through the use of mechanical ventilators or CPR, is a crucial decision to make, yet more than 80% of individuals in the United States don’t have one in place. Bear in mind that your living will offers you and your loved ones peace of mind and protects your family from having to make decisions on your behalf.
There are five items to consider when drawing up your Arizona living will and end of life care issues:
- What treatments do you want? How long will you want to be afforded treatment? Under what circumstances do you want those treatments provided?
- Do you want to be resuscitated or will you have a DNR in place? If you don’t have a DNR, health care workers will be required by law to make attempts to revive you if your heart stops. These measures include CPR, defibrillation or other measures.
- Will you want access to mechanical ventilation? This means you will be equipped with a machine that breathes for you and prolongs your life – even if you’re in a vegetative state. You’ll need to make decisions of under which circumstances you’d want to be on a ventilator and for how long.
- Care in the event of a terminal illness is also a part of end of life care decisions that must be made. This is called palliative care and also includes the type of pain treatments you’d like to receive.
- If you’re unable to take nutrition and are in need of nutritional and hydration assistance you can make decisions on receiving food and other fluids intravenously or through a tube in your stomach.
It is impossible to plan for every eventuality you do want to commit some choices for your end of life healthcare. After you’ve made your decisions, you will also need to choose a friend, family member or legal advisor as your health care agent; this person will have access to your living will and will make decisions on your behalf if you’re incapacitated. Hiring an attorney to help draft your living will and end of life care wishes is one way to make certain your wishes are both committed to paper and legal in the event they are necessary.
Need Help?
If you are not sure as to what legal document you currently have contact one of our professionals to help you with your estate planning. They will make sure you have all of your grounds covered and have the right legal documents that best suite your wants and needs.
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