Estate Planning: Make Sure Your Wishes are Honored

Estate Planning: Make Sure Your Wishes are Honored A medical power of
attorney and living will are crucial estate planning steps, and like long
term care insurance, must be set in place early in life for optimal
protection.

She was just 26 years old when she went into cardiac arrest, fell down in
her apartment and was rushed to the hospital. She lapsed into a coma and
spent 15 years of her life in what doctors diagnosed as an "irreversible
persistent vegetative state".

For all that time she was unable to make any medical decisions whatsoever.
Her husband believed she did not want to live in that state, and asked that
her feeding tube be removed, but her parents disagreed.

The legal battles that followed made history, and debates raged across the
USA. She was known to the world as Terri Schiavo.

There are two basic steps you can take to plan ahead. No one likes thinking
about the worst, let alone planning for it, but if Terri's situation has
taught us anything, it's that planning for such events saves your family a
great deal of potential heartache, and it puts the focus on your life and
your wishes.

A living will is the first step to making sure you're prepared in case of a
medical emergency where you cannot make decisions for yourself. It simply
spells out in detail exactly what kind of medical procedures you do or do
not want performed on you and indicates whether or not you want to be
resuscitated and what you want done under a variety of other medical
conditions, including comatose and a persistent vegetative state.

It's important that you consult with your family whenever you make these
decisions. This way, it's clear what your wishes are. It's also important to
include a financial professional in your planning process, to make sure you
aren't missing any crucial information or steps.

Your living will deals generally with a variety of medical procedures and
can be as general or as complex as you want. The more complex you make it,
the more your wishes are known, and this is crucial, so that it's clear
precisely what you want. A little contemplation can go a long way to save
family and friends from heartache and legal battles over what may initially
seem like minor medical details.

Next, name a medical power of attorney. A medical power of attorney can go
by many names, including advance directive and health care proxy. It's all
the same basic principle.
By naming a medical power of attorney, you simply designate someone to act
as sole medical decision maker in your absence / incapacity. Most
frequently, a spouse is named to this position, though it's wise to name
someone else in reserve just in case your spouse is incapacitated as well.

Appointing a medical power of attorney and drafting a living will are only
two ways to be prepared. Preparing a complete estate plan with a financial
professional and an estate planning attorney is one way you're more likely
to have your wishes honored from all sides, both financial and medical.

Another crucial element is your long term care insurance which had better be
bought as early as possible. The likelihood of long term care is
overwhelming compared with other common risks like auto accidents or home
fires

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Long term care insurance activist, Clay Cotton, writes for
http://www.PrepSmart.com - The Online Baby Boomers Decision Assistance
Center, where you get Free Long Term Care Insurance advice, comparative rate
quotes and personal guidance, all while safely at home in your favorite
pajamas and bunny slippers.