Living Wills and DNRs

It is important for all adults to have a living will, a power of medical attorney, and any other documents that represent the individual’s wishes should he or she become too ill to voice any medical directives. It is especially important for a senior citizen to have these documents.

What a Living Will Does

A living will is a direct statement to family members, medical personnel, and lawyers what an individual’s wishes are in regards to life-sustaining measures. There are no state standards to a living will, and having one does not necessarily mean that the directives in the living will are followed if called for. If the living will is not readily available in an emergency, Emergency Room doctors and nurses will focus on saving the life. They can not make the call without the living will in their hands. Also, some family members might not agree with the directives in the living will, such as a do not resuscitate order, and will insist that the living will be ignored (or not produced for medical personnel).

The person who has the living will should discuss the directives with a trusted family member or friend who will fight for the living will to be followed. Living wills contain specific information on what measures medical staff should or should not take. A living will does not only have to state what a person does not want done, but also what should be done to keep someone alive.

Power of Attorney

A living will is only part of the equation. The person also needs to name a durable power of attorney, as well. The durable power of attorney is a person chosen to act as agent who will make all medical decisions. Usually the person given that responsibility is the spouse, but it can be any trusted person. It is good to have a second person named as an alternative in case the original person is unavailable. For example, if a wife names her husband as her power of attorney and they are both severely injured in a car accident, he is unavailable to act as her power of attorney.

Copies of these documents should be given to a number of people. They should be kept at the person’s home in a safe, yet easily accessible, location. Copies should be given to the family doctor and to the power of attorney if that person does not live in the same residence as the person for whom the living will is written. If done by a lawyer, a copy is usually kept in the law office as well.