Many older people say they "don’t want to be a burden" on their families. And yet, by not making a handful of key decisions and not completing the associated paperwork, they are leaving themselves vulnerable to the very situation they’d like to avoid.
Specifically, research indicates that less than half of people over age 50 have completed even one "advance care" legal-planning document. The ideal would be to have a complete "advance directive" package of forms completed, stating your wishes regarding medical care should you become incapacitated. That package typically includes what used to be called a living will, a power-of-attorney for healthcare matters, a guardianship appointment, and a HIPAA waiver.
The forms enable you to specify:
What, if any, extreme measures (ventilator, feeding tube) you'd want taken to sustain your life;
Who is authorized to make healthcare decisions on your behalf;
Who would have responsibility for you if you became incapacitated;
Who is allowed to receive information about you from a healthcare provider.
Research published several years ago in the scholarly journal Health Affairs found that people over the age of 65 are more likely than younger individuals to have made these decisions and completed the necessary paperwork. However, people with chronic illnesses were only slightly more likely to have done so (38% vs. 33% of people without chronic illnesses).
"Many people don't sign advance directives because they [mistakenly] worry they're not going to get any care if they say they don't want [cardiopulmonary resuscitation]," said researcher Dr. Katherine Courtright of the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine. "It becomes this very scary document that says, 'Let me die.'"
In reality, an advance directive enables you to state your wishes along a spectrum of care.
Next steps
Many advance-care documents can be found online. However, it may be better to use an estate-planning attorney because the documents are all about peace of mind. For many people, knowing they have the right forms and that they are filled out correctly is worth the price of the attorney's fees.
For more on this topic, read It May Be Time to Review Your Estate-Planning Documents.
Do you have an advance directive? If so, did you use an attorney or take a DIY approach? If you don’t have one, why not?
