The Important Estate Planning Step You Can Take Right Now For Free

April 16, 2018

Along with contemplating wills and death, putting together a set of medical directives and a living will is right up there amongst our least favorite things to do. Realistically, it is also a very important thing to do.

As in do it right now, after you finish reading my blog post. You can even take care of it before you finish reading. I’ll make it easy for you. You can do it right now if you want. You don’t even have to get up.

I’ll wait. Still avoiding it, eh?

What’s the worst that could happen?

Okay, let’s see what could happen if you don’t quite get around to writing down your wishes regarding your medical care. What’s the worst that could happen? Well, I hate to be brutal, but the worst that could happen is that you could find yourself on life support someday as your spouse and family agonize over what to do for you. Let me tell you a story about that.

Meet Terri Schiavo

Terri’s tragic story unfolded in my home state of Florida. In short, Terri was a young woman whose heart stopped and deprived her brain of oxygen for a prolonged period. Although her body survived the ordeal, her major brain functions did not and she was kept alive with a feeding tube. Terri did not have a living will to tell her family about her wishes for life support, and subsequently her husband and her parents battled in the courts over whether or not to allow her to die. (See this article for more details)

Terri’s predicament and the headlines that followed dragged on for years. Fifteen years, actually. Fifteen years of mental anguish, legal battles, and expenses for her family. Although it is a sad story, her situation brought to light a very important issue for us all — we all, no matter how old, need to complete our own living will and medical directive.

Living will or medical directive – do you need both?

What’s the difference between a living will and a medical directive, you ask? Excellent question. Also known as advanced directives, medical directives are instructions that you specify verbally or in writing (best if you write them down) regarding what kind of health care you prefer if you are unable to communicate your wishes on your own.

Your living will is a type of advance directive used to describe your wishes regarding resuscitation efforts, quality of life, and to what extent you do or do not want life prolonging treatments applied if you become terminally ill. This is the document that could have helped Terri Schiavo’s family potentially avoid the 15 years of difficulty and expense they endured.

Not just about end-of-life care

Your advance directives do not have to be limited to only to end-of-life decisions. Legal and medical professionals recommend also drafting another type of directive known as a durable power of attorney for healthcare. Since trying to specify every potential situation in your living will would be impossible, you can use a healthcare power of attorney to authorize someone else to make decisions on your behalf regarding your medical care if you are incapacitated, but not necessarily terminally ill.

How to put these documents in place, preferably ASAP

Anytime you begin drafting legal documents, it is highly recommended that you work with an attorney. And working with an attorney will take time and money — one of the primary reasons we put off drafting these important legal documents. I get it. So let’s skip the attorney – for now – and take care of the basics. Earlier, I said we could create your living will right now. We can also do it absolutely free. So let’s do that. Here’s how:

MyDirectives.com

MyDirectives is a free service that makes it easy for you to quickly draft your own medical directives and share them with your family and your doctor. You can also include video instructions, in addition to checking the boxes next to prepared statements. Quick. Easy. Free. And yes, it also includes a mobile app now. I’ve used this service myself, because like you, I procrastinated for a long time about getting this done.

Five Wishes

Another free service (for one year) is provided by Aging with Dignity. Using their Five Wishes tool, you can quickly and easily draft an advanced directive document by checking a few boxes, circling some directions, or writing a few sentences. Is it legal and binding in your state? They help you address that question as well.

In many cases, all you need to do is answer a few questions, print it, sign it, and have it witnessed. Simple. Easy. Free. Some states may also require you to use a state approved form, so check your state requirements while you are visiting the site.

Still putting it off?

I’m right there with you. I don’t like to think or talk about this depressing stuff, either (and it’s my job to talk about it). I’m hoping you’ll do me and your family a huge favor and at least take care of your living will. Not only because it’s the right and responsible thing to do, but mainly so we both won’t have to keep talking about it. You might even save your family from being forced to talk about it for years like Terri’s family did.