Advance Directives:
Proactive Planning That Benefits You
And Your Family
2402 W. Jefferson Street, Boise, ID 83702
Tel: 208-387-0729
www.IdahoElderLaw.com
Take Charge of Your Planning
• Accomplish Your Goals Both While
You’re Alive and After You Die
• Save Time and Expense For Your
Spouse and Surviving Kids
• Obtain Peace of Mind
• Avoid Family Dysfunction, Stress and
Heartache
OUR
GREATEST FEARS
Having Hard-Earned Life Savings
Consumed By Long-Term Care Costs
Not Being Able To Pass Something
Down To The Kids
Being A Burden
Creating Strife For Family Members
Suffering/Pain At Life’s End
Planning Ahead Can Help You
Address All These Concerns
• DEATH IS A FACT OF LIFE
• PLANNING FOR DEATH IS ONE OF
THOSE SMART, ADULT THINGS WE
ALL SHOULD DO… BUT OFTEN PUT
OFF.
• WAITING TO PLAN IS NOT A GOOD
PLAN!!
Advance Directives
Your chance to give direction,
in advance, as to how you
want to be treated from a
health care perspective, if you
cannot speak for yourself.
Two Documents:
1. Living Will
2. Durable Power of
Attorney for Health Care
Living Will
Narrow Application
Two possibilities -- You
are either:
1. In a terminal condition
and your death is
imminent; or
2. In a persistent
vegetative state.
You can’t speak for
yourself.
Three Choices In Idaho’s Living Will
•
#1: All medical treatment, care, nutrition, and
hydration be provided.
•
#2: If artificial life sustaining procedures
artificially prolong life, procedures withheld except
for nutrition and/or hydration.
•
#3: If artificial life sustaining procedures
artificially prolong life, procedures withheld
including withdrawal of nutrition and hydration.
Health Care Power of Attorney
• You name someone else to make medical treatment
decisions for you if you cannot make them for
yourself.
• Agents DO NOT sweep in and automatically start
making medical decisions for you;
• HIPAA Release included to insure agent has access to
all medical records;
• Give careful thought to the people you name;
• Name a primary and at least one, if not two,
alternates.
Why Bother?
• With No Advance Directives:
• Family members who don’t know your wishes and
may not share your values could make decisions
for you;
• Others could step forward and have to make
decisions for you under Idaho’s Medical Consent
Act;
• Could lead to disagreement/conflict between
family members (Court);
• Could lead to guardianship proceedings (Court).
Question 1 – True or False?
• After a patient is connected to life
support systems, it is legally difficult to
withdraw him or her from the life
support system.
False
Question 2 – True or False?
• Without a living will, the doctors and hospital must
put and keep a terminally and incurably ill patient on
life support systems, regardless of the cost.
False
Question 3 – True or False?
• If Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are called to
resuscitate you and are shown a copy of your living
will, they will respect your wishes.
False
Question 4 – True or False?
• If you have a living will, you should also have a Do
Not Resuscitate order (now covered by POST, which
stands for Physician Order for Scope of Treatment).
False
Question 5 – True or False?
• The only way to revoke your living
will is by tearing it up.
False
Question 6 – True or False?
• Your agent under a Health Care Power of Attorney
has the right to make all health care decisions on
your behalf and can even make decisions over your
objections.
False
Question 7 – True or False?
• More often than not, when problems
arise in getting health care providers
to respect a patient’s living will, it is
because of objections made by
family members.
True
Question 8 – True or False?
• A living will from another state is not
valid in this state.
False
Question 9 – True or False?
• A hospital or nursing home can
insist that someone being admitted
must sign a living will.
False
Question 10 – True or False?
• The law is more concerned about
protecting doctors than it is about
honoring a patient’s wishes.
False
Question 11 – True or False?
• The agent designated under a Power
of Attorney for health care must
always be a family member, if one is
available.
False
Question 12 – True or False?
• More than one family member may share the
authority granted under a Power of Attorney for
health care.
True
7 Steps To Put Your Advance
Directive In Place
1. Discuss different options with the important people
in your life;
2. Decide which option best reflects what you want;
3. Select a person to be your health care agent (ask
them first!);
4. Complete the advance directive (let’s do that now);
5. File original in a safe place and provide copies to key
people;
6. Register Directive with Secretary of State’s office;
7. Review annually.
Idaho’s Quality of Life Coalition
For More
Information/Resources:
www.IDQOL.org
ACCOMPLISH YOUR GOALS BY
PLANNING AHEAD
Develop a Comprehensive Plan
That Includes Advance Directives
• Get your ducks in a row with regard to your:
• Estate plan (planning for death/disability);
• Protecting assets against expensive longterm care costs;
• Making sure your end of life wishes are
understood and honored.
Thank You For Your Interest!
Now…Get Going On Your Family’s Plan!
Proactive Planning Benefits You and Your Family
Presented By:
Peter C. Sisson, CELA, EPLS
National Board Certified Elder Law Attorney
National Board Certified Estate Planning Law Specialist
2402 W. Jefferson Street, Boise, ID 83702 Tel: 208-387-0729 Fax: 208-331-5009
www.IdahoElderLaw.com