Wills and Advance Directives for End of Life

I hope we are in the same boat today. I am planning for my end of life, and I am being proactive. I am hoping that you are doing it proactively too. But hey, if not, I mean if you are doing it as a reaction to a situation that has recently arisen for you and you must get ready to go, I believe life is infinite. As an experience, it has always been there with you since you were conscious before your birth, and it will always be there with you because you (and me, and everybody else) will die before you know it.

That is the fact that we must all reconcile with and make a planning resolution. Once here, we tick off step one of my “End of Life List of Seven” I talked about in an earlier blog. We must now go to step 2: Legal - Write a Will and Advance Directives.

Here is what Mayo clinic says (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/living-wills/HA00014 ), “Living wills and other advance directives describe your preferences regarding treatment if you're faced with a serious accident or illness. These legal documents speak for you when you're not able to speak for yourself — for instance, if you're in a coma.” To me the idea is not really about Me. It is about Mine. If I am going to be in a coma for an indeterminate amount of time, my loved ones are going to have to deal with a dire emotional situation. Do they pull the plug, free me, and feel guilty? Or do they not pull the plug and feel guilty? If I made that legal document which stated my wish in such a circumstance, I’d make it that much easier on everyone involved.

I have been going through a number of public and private websites. Some of them are:
• National Cancer Institute gives a good overview (http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/support/advance-directives)
• Family Doctor talks about “Do Not Resuscitate Orders” (http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/pat-advocacy/endoflife/003.html)
• NOLO clarifies that a living will bears no relation to the conventional will or living trust used to leave property at death, an important distinction coming from the lawyers themselves (http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/article-30023.html)

There is a lot of material I am still sifting through. I will share my findings in upcoming blog entries and hopefully come to a decision regarding the best course of action soon.