WV Farm Bureau Magazine September 2013 | Page 7

Advance Directives Paul L. Hicks Because of the attention to the Terry Schiavo case in Florida a few years back, there has been a renewed interest in Advance Directives. While Advance Directives are known by different names, the term Advance Directives generally refers to documents in three categories: Medical Powers of Attorney; Living Wills; and Financial Powers of Attorney. Often these days we combine the Medical Power of Attorney and Living Will into one document. The Combined Medical Power of Attorney/Living Will and Financial Power of Attorney are the documents that allow you to control your life and determine who will handle your affairs should you become incapacitated. These Advance Directives extend your individual autonomy. Further, without these written directives, you (and your family) may face prolonged, painful, and invasive therapies that would not be what you really wanted or deny you treatment the could have otherwise relieved your pain and provide you comfort. Living Will A living will is your written expression of how you want to be treated in certain medical conditions. Depending on state law, this document may permit you to express whether you wish to be given lifesustaining treatments in the event you are terminally ill or injured. You have the ability to decide in advance whether you wish such treatment as being provided nourishment via intravenous and other devices (“tube feeding”), analgesia (pain relief), Medical Power of Attorney A Medical Power of Attorney (also sometimes known as a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care) allows someone you trust to make healthcare decisions on your behalf if you are unable to do so yourself. The individual named as your Medical Power of Attorney helps your doctors determine when lifesupporting measures should be stopped. If your wish is to not use life-sustaining measures, you can convey this to the person you have selected, and they will be able to express and fulfill your wishes on your behalf. A Medical Power of Attorney only has this responsibility for your healthcare decisions, and cannot make financial or other decisions on your behalf. Durable Power of Attorney A Durable Power of Attorney can act on a person’s behalf when that person becomes incapacitated. People who are somehow incapacitated (such as suffering from dementia or senility) and are no longer competent to make their own decisions, need to have someone they trust continue to make financial decisions for them, long after they have lost the capacity to do so. A Durable Power of Attorney appoints that trusted individual to make those decisions and avoids the costly and sometimes painful experience of a Guardianship process (sometimes referred to as “living Probate”). These financial powers of attorney should be very detailed and explicit because courts will construe them to be photo: susandaniels/istockphoto The Importance of the use of ventilators, and to give other medical directions that impact the end of life such as a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order. A living will applies in situations where the decision to use such treatments may prolong your life for a limited period (with no realistic medical hope of recovery) and not obtaining such treatment would result in your death. Unlike the Medical Power of Attorney, the Living Will does not name someone to make decisions on your behalf; it is a statement of your wishes in regard to end of life treatment. Not only is this important for the treating physician but also can be very helpful and comforting to your family when they are trying to make an important decision about your continued care. see Directives, page 19 West Virginia Farm Bureau News 7