Advance Care Directives / Living Wills
Many people avoid planning health care for the end of their lives. But coping with a serious or life-limiting disease often brings a sense of urgency to the issue. Preparing in advance ensures that if you are unable to speak for yourself, your family members and the health care professionals are informed about your wishes when the time arrives to make important medical decisions.
Delaware Hospice recommends that everyone plan for the potential to become incapacitated, regardless of your age or health status. The process alleviates loved ones from making daunting medical decisions on your behalf, and it’s never too early to prepare for unforeseen circumstances.
Take a look at the range of options that help you and your loved ones to implement your medical preferences and plan for your estate management:
An Advanced Health Care Directive (AHCD) is a legal document which provides instructions regarding your preferences for medical care in the event you are unable to speak for yourself. The process allows you to do one or both of the following:
- Outline specific instructions regarding medical care. Creating an AHCD allows you to record specific directions regarding your medical care, including life prolonging measures, withdrawal from further treatment, the use of pain relief, authorization for organ donation and more.
- Appoint a proxy heath care agent, or Durable Power of Attorney (DPA). The DPA you choose has the authorization to make decisions on your behalf regarding whether or not to implement life prolonging measures, including nutrition, hydration and air supply. You will need the help of an attorney to designate the DPA, and many people choose a spouse or family member, but it is also permissible to choose a trusted friend, or anyone else who has your best interests in mind. A DPA may also make financial decisions on your behalf.
Appoint a Power of Attorney (POA): The POA you choose has the authority to make decisions on your behalf regarding your estate. However, in the event you become incapacitated, the POA is not authorized to make medical decisions on your behalf.
Visit the following link to access the Delaware Advance Directives form from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). You may also access the Catholic Advance Directives to state your wishes in writing using the form from the Diocese of Wilmington. The information has been adapted from the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship’s Cancer Survival Toolbox®.
Once you’ve completed the Advanced Health Care Directive, Delaware Hospice recommends you make copies, keep several for yourself in a lock box, and distribute them to the following people:
- Family members, friends and anyone you believe would maintain your best interests
- Your primary physician and anyone involved in attending to your medical needs
- Your attorney, and anyone else named in the document
Living Wills
A Living Will is the oldest format of the Advanced Care Directive. A Living Will is a legal, written document which details your medical preferences to your health care providers in the event you become incapacitated, or are unable to speak for yourself. A Living Will may also include information pertaining to your finances or your estate in the at the end of your life. The instructions covered in a Living Will may include general or specific information, including whether or not to:
- Implement artificial feeding
- Use a respirator if you cannot breathe on your own
- Administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if your heart stops
- Refuse specific treatment or medication
Important facts regarding Living Wills:
- You don’t have to respond to every question in a Living Will’s standardized format; if you don’t, your health care provider will make those decisions.
- It is permissible to add further instructions relevant to your care, since many living will standard forms are vague.
- A Living Will form does not name a person who will be responsible for your care decisions if you are not able to make them; to do this, you will also need a Durable Power of Attorney (DPA).
- A Living Will that limits care in some areas does not mean that you will no longer receive care. You are entitled to medical care to make you comfortable as long as you are alive.
A Will is a legal, written document which provides instructions regarding the distribution of your estate at the end of your life. We recommend you seek legal counsel, preferably an estate attorney who has expertise in this area, who is familiar with Delaware laws.
A Living Trust is a legal document which identifies your assets, such as your home, bank accounts and stocks, for example, the benefits of which are administered during your lifetime. Later, at the end of your life, the assets are transferred to your beneficiaries.
In establishing a Living Trust, you may name yourself as the trustee, managing the benefits independently. Or, you may designate a trustee to take over the management should you become incapacitated or unable to make decisions for any reason.
There are various types of Living Trusts, and you should work with a qualified estate attorney in establishing one that matches your needs. Living Trusts generally require legal assistance to create. We recommend you also create a Will, in the event that any last minute changes in your estate, which are not included in the Living Trust, are transferred to the appropriate beneficiaries.
For more information, please contact: 800-866-9800.
Delaware Hospice is accredited by The Joint Commission.