Fill and Sign the Directives Health Care Form

© 2016 - U.S. Legal Forms, Inc USLegal Guide to Advance Directives for Health Care I NTRODUCTION Advance directive is a broad term that describes various documents used to express a person’s desires and instructions to take effect in the event the person is unable to act in her or his own behalf. Examples of advance directives include living wills, powers of attorney for health care, do not resuscitate (DNR) orders, and anatomical gift donations. An advance care directive is a document that specifies the care a person wishes to receive in case that they are unable to communicate their wishes, such as being in a coma. To be enforceable, the person making the directive must be of sound mind, meaning that they are still able to think rationally and communicate their wishes in a clear manner. The document must be signed and notarized according to the laws in your state. Laws governing advance care directives vary by state, so local laws should be consulted for specific requirements in your area. You should provide your doctor and your hospital with copies of your advance directives for your permanent medical record. Any time you are admitted to a hospital, you may be asked if you have a such a document and your response noted in your medical record. You’re not required to have an advance directive if you don’t want one, but it’s a good idea in order to guarantee that your wishes are followed regarding medical care. Otherwise, your family will have to make difficult decisions or incur large expenses and time delays if a legal guardianship or conservatorship is needed. If you become incapacitated and you have no living will or power of attorney for heath care, and your doctor and your family disagree about treatment, your health care decisions may have to be made in a court of law. L IVING W ILLS A living will is a document that allows a person to explain in writing which medical treatment he or she does or does not want during a terminal illness. A terminal illness is a fatal illness that leads ultimately to death. A living will takes effect only when the patient is incapacitated and can no longer express his or her wishes. The will states which medical treatments may be used and which may not be used to die naturally and without the patient’s life being artificially prolonged by various medical procedures. Although the term living will may indicate that it is a will, in reality, it is more similar to a power of attorney than a will. Therefore, don't be confused by the title of the document. The purpose of a living will is to allow you to make decisions about life support and direct others to implement your desires in that regard. Living wills are needed because advances in medicine allow doctors to prolong and sustain life although the person will not recover from a persistent vegetative state. Some people would not desire to remain in that state while others would. Extending life when death is imminent to some people is only extending the suffering and prolonging of the dying process. The living will allows you to make the decision of whether life-prolonging medical or surgical procedures are to be continued, withheld, or withdrawn, as well as when artificial feeding and fluids are to be used or withheld. It allows you to express your wishes prior to being incapacitated. Your physicians or health care providers are directed by the living will to follow your instructions. You may revoke the living will prior to becoming incapacitated. Laws governing living wills vary by state. Some states require two witnesses to witness your signature or that the form be signed in the presence of a notary public, or both. If the will provides for the appointment of an agent, the agent appointed should not also be a witness to your signature. The agent appointed to carry out your wishes is sometimes called a health care representative. The living will generally becomes operative when it is provided to your physician or health care provider AND you are incapable of making health care decisions for yourself, such as where you are permanently unconscious or terminally ill and unable to communicate. P OWER OF A TTORNEY FOR H EALTH C ARE A durable power of attorney for health care is a power of attorney where the principal appoints an agent to make health care decisions for the principal and is remains effective even after the incompetence of the principal. It is often used as a form of advance health care directive. In some states, a living will takes effect only when there is no hope for recovery, while a durable power of attorney takes effect whenever you become unable to make decisions such as during surgery or even when you become temporarily unconscious. In most states it comes into effect after your doctor certifies that you lack the capacity to make your own health care decisions. Some states allow it to be effective immediately after it is properly executed and delivered to the agent. It is effective indefinitely unless it contains a specific termination date, it is revoked, or the principal regains consciousness and competency. You may have several close relatives or friends who would be willing to become your attorney- in-fact for health care purposes. An attorney- in-fact is the person named in a written power of attorney document to act on behalf of the person who signs the document, called the principal. The attorney-in-fact’s power and responsibilities depend on the specific powers granted in the power of attorney document. An attorney- in-fact is an agent of the principal. This person should be able to make tough decisions, to speak up in a crisis situation, to understand your values and desires and would speak for you when you are unable to speak for yourself? You should someone you trust and who will really listen to and carry out your desires and values. Make sure that person is willing to assume the responsibility of being your representative. The attorney-in-fact must be at least 18 years old. Generally, in order to be valid, your Power of Attorney for Health Care must be signed in the presence of two or more witnesses. The witnesses must also meet certain requirements. They: ■ must be at least 18 years of age; ■ cannot be related to you by blood or marriage; ■ cannot be an heir to any portion of your estate; and ■ cannot be directly responsible for your medical care expenses. D O N OT R ESUSCITATE O RDERS A do not resuscitate order is an advance directive that is to be followed when a person's heart or breathing stops and they are unable to communicate their wishes to refuse treatment that could allow them to die. Laws regarding do not resuscitate orders vary by state, so local laws should be consulted for specific requirements in your area. For example, in one state, a competent adult or the legally appointed advocate of an incompetent adult must sign the form and must be 18 years of age or older and be of sound mind. The document also must be signed by the individual's attending physician and two witnesses. If you have religious or other objections to care by a physician you can create a document that does not require a physician's signature. By law, your family, physicians and employees of your health care facility are not allowed to be witnesses for this form. The document accessible and in his or her possession. As an alternative, a person may wear a bracelet alerting emergency personnel to the Do Not Resuscitate Order. A patient with a DNR Comfort Care-Arrest Order (DNR-CC-ARR) will receive all the appropriate medical treatment, including resuscitation, until the patient has a cardiac arrest (heart has stopped beating) or pulmonary arrest (patient has stopped breathing), at which point only comfort care will be provided. Under a DNR Comfort Care Order (DNR-CC), a patient rejects other resuscitative measures, such as drugs to correct abnormal heart rhythms. A DNR-CC order is restricted to providing only comfort care or other requested treatment at a point even before the heart or breathing stops. Comfort care involves keeping the patient comfortable with pain medication and providing bereavement care. A NATOMICAL G IFT When people make plans for their final disposition after death, many choose to donate all or part of the body to medicine. It's a generous gesture. But because there are different types of anatomical gifts, it is important for people to understand more about them before they make a decision. There are actually two kinds of anatomical gifts: body donation for medical research and organ donations for transplants. Usually a body is donated for one of these purposes, but not both. According to the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, a model law created in 1968 to provide guidance to states passing their own laws, any person older than age 18 may agree to donate all or any part of his or her body after death. Many states allow people to become organ donors simply by filling in a space on their driving license. If a person has never indicated that he or she wants to be an organ donor, doctors can get permission from members of his or her family in this order of priority: spouse, adult son or daughter, parent, adult sibling or guardian. R ESOURCES For links to state- specific laws, please see the information at the following link: http://livingwills.uslegal. com/