Why Do I Need a Medical Directive?

“If you have not executed a medical directive, I strongly recommend doing so. If you do have a living will, I suggest you review your document periodically to be sure it still provides the best options for carrying out your wishes.”

An important part of estate planning is a medical directive. This can include a living will, which details your wishes for end-of-life care; and a health care power of attorney that appoints a person to make medical decisions, if you’re unable to do so. A medical directive addresses important issues that are inevitable. However, many people just don’t want to think about them or discuss them with family. As a result, they’re left for to family members and medical providers to work through without any guidance.

The Watertown Public Opinion’s recent article, “Keep medical directives up to date,” says that it’s not uncommon to find situations, where medical directives that were valid when they were executed, become potentially useless. A family member could choose to make end-of-life decisions but then fall victim to dementia, which impacted their competency to make those decisions.

If your medical directive names your spouse, you should also name an alternate since your spouse, who’s aging along with you, may not be the best person to make hard decisions when the time comes.

In addition, you should communicate your specific wishes to both your primary and alternate designees. Ask them if they think they’ll be able to carry out your wishes. These conversations aren’t easy, but they’re essential.

On one hand, it may not be really hard for a family member to consent to become the designated representative in a medical directive. However, if the agent named in a healthcare power of attorney is in good health, the need to make hard decisions is somewhere in the future and can feel almost theoretical. When a medical emergency or an extended final illness occurs, a family member who’s frightened, grieving, and exhausted may then find actually making those decisions to be the toughest thing they’ve ever had to do.

You should provide your family with clear directions to make end-of-life decisions for you. This means you need to do more, than simply write their names into a document.

It requires selecting a person who’s willing to carry out your wishes. Tell that person about your wishes in a robust and meaningful conversation, and check in periodically to make certain they remain willing and able to carry out the solemn promise that a living will entails.

Reference: Watertown Public Opinion (November 20, 2018) “Keep medical directives up to date”