Berkley Oliver, PLLC, offers help in the areas of wills and trusts law to those who’d like to plan an advance medical directive in Shelbyville, KY. An advance medical directive allows you to have your critical care wishes known so that if you’re not able to make these decisions for yourself later, your preferences are still respected.
When you turn to our attorney at Berkley Oliver, PLLC you can get decades of experience behind you. We are here to offer the assistance you need to ensure your wishes are respected. Contact us today to get started on your advance medical directive.
What Are Advance Medical Directives?
Advance medical directives, also called living wills, are documents that express your wishes for end-of-life medical care. They can also allow you to appoint someone else as a medical power of attorney.
These documents detail whether you want medical professionals to put you on a respirator, insert a feeding tube, or offer dialysis services, among many other medical interventions.
Advance medical directives also document whether you want to be resuscitated and whether you would like your organs donated. These kinds of directives help avoid unnecessary suffering and provide the exact level of care you want as you near the end of your life. They also help to remove some of the decision-making burden from others.
The living will can only be enacted if two physicians certify that at least one of the following is true:
- You are terminally ill
- You are in a coma
- You are seriously injured
- You are in the late stages of dementia
- You are permanently unconscious
The advance medical directive becomes valid the moment you sign it in front of a witness. Keep in mind that emergency medical technicians cannot honor a living will. They have to do everything possible to stabilize you so that they can transfer you to a hospital.
Advance medical directives also allow you to designate a person as medical power of attorney. You are in charge of making your healthcare decisions until you are no longer able to do so, which is when a medical power of attorney takes over so that your wishes are respected.
What Kind of Decisions Do Advance Medical Directives Cover?
Advance medical directives focus on the type of interventions you would like healthcare providers to use to try to save your life during a medical emergency, if you enter into a vegetative state, or if you suffer from brain death.
You can state that you want your team to do everything possible to save you, or you can ask that they do not resuscitate you.
Another important area that advance medical directives cover is the kind of pain medications you want to receive. Some people want to remain lucid at the end of their lives so that they can speak with loved ones, while others want to be as comfortable as possible, which can mean turning to narcotics.
An advance medical directive also allows you to express your wishes about organ donations. It can also delve into your wishes on receiving antibiotics or antivirals. For example, if you are at the end of your life, do you want to receive these treatments for an infection or allow it to run its course?
In this document, you can also state whether you would prefer to die at home and whether you want to have any kind of invasive tests or treatments.
Preparing an Advance Medical Directive
At Berkley Oliver, PLLC, we are ready to help you put together your advance medical directive. It’s important to turn to lawyers who are experienced in wills and trusts law in Kentucky so that everything is in order.
When you turn to our team, you get a chance to understand the various medical scenarios you may face. This knowledge helps you make better decisions in regard to your living will. Although it’s not easy to speak about end-of-life care, it’s essential that you do so with professionals who can guide you.
If you want to designate someone as your medical power of attorney, we can help you do this as well. We’ll talk you through what it means and how to choose the right person.
Our estate planning attorney is ready to tackle all of these difficult questions with you so that you receive the exact care you want as you approach the end of your life.
Contact Our Shelbyville, KY, Will and Trust Attorney
A crucial part of estate planning is to think about the kind of end-of-life care you want to receive. Medical situations can arise in which you may not be able to advocate for yourself. In these cases, ensuring your wishes are protected and respected means preparing an advance medical directive. Contact Berkley Oliver, PLLC today to get started.