No one wants to make life or death decisions for a loved one. The burden of making the toughest end of life decisions is one that will greatly impact your family, and their emotional well being. You may think that the person you chose to make these decisions knows what you want, but do they really? How can you make sure that in an emotionally difficult time, a decisions will not be made based on emotions alone?
The safest way to take the burden off your loved ones shoulders while ensuring that your wishes are met is to have a living will or advanced health care directive. In some states, this documentation is legally binding, meaning that your agent cannot go against your wishes. In other states, the agent can choose what they feel is best, as long as the document is used as guidance.
Regardless of the legal status of a living will, it has the ability to relieve your health care agent from guilt, provides peace of mind, and often solves tense arguments between family members that may disagree on the decisions made.
If you do not have a living will or advanced health care directive, set up an appointment to speak with a Cleveland elder law attorney, before it’s too late.
