Advance Directive

  • Advance Care Directives: Preparations for the Unforeseeable Future

    An advance medical directive is a legal document that identifies a person’s health care preferences in the event they become unable to make decisions for themselves. Advance care planning provides invaluable guidance and peace of mind for family members.

    7 Comments
  • Planning Ahead for Mom and Dad's Elderly Care

    Advance care planning can make a critical difference in the lives of your parents as they age. An elder law attorney can help your elderly parents with advance directives, wills, living trusts and power of attorney before they get sick.

    11 Comments
  • The Risks and Benefits of Feeding Tubes for the Elderly

    Deciding whether to use a feeding tube is a complex matter, especially for older patients. Family caregivers should understand why and when tube feeding is appropriate in case they must make this choice for their loved one someday.

    3 Comments
  • Why a Letter of Competency Should Be Part of Every Senior’s Legal File

    Adding this one simple step when creating or changing a will, powers of attorney and other crucial legal documents can prevent unnecessary stress, legal problems and familial discord down the road.

    9 Comments
  • Hospice Care for Dementia: When Is It Time?

    The slow and unpredictable progression of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias often makes it tricky for families and even doctors to determine when to bring in hospice. Use these guidelines to decide if a loved one is a candidate for end-of-life care.

    19 Comments
  • Why Elder Law Attorneys Aren’t Just for Seniors

    Planning ahead benefits seniors and their family caregivers. Working with an attorney who specializes in elder law gives seniors peace of mind and allows family members to understand their roles and responsibilities before they must act on them.

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  • Health Care Decision Making in a Senior Living Facility

    Even if you were heavily involved in the decision to place an elderly loved one in a senior living facility, you must have certain legal documents in place to participate in conversations with staff about their medical care.

    3 Comments
  • 3 Legal Documents Caregivers Need to Manage a Senior’s Health Care

    If you anticipate needing to make medical decisions for elderly parents or your spouse in the future, make sure you have these 3 key legal documents in place.

    35 Comments
  • The Difference Between POA, Durable POA and a Living Will

    An estate plan that will safeguard a senior’s health and finances consists of a will, advance directives and powers of attorney. Familiarize yourself with these basic legal documents before estate planning begins.

    61 Comments
  • What Is a Do-Not-Resuscitate Order and How Does It Work?

    A do-not-resuscitate order (DNR) is an advance care planning document that specifies what potentially life-sustaining medical interventions a person does not want to receive. A basic DNR order usually states a patient’s wish to avoid undergoing CPR.

    36 Comments
  • Why Do People Die From Alzheimer’s Disease?

    The most noticeable symptom of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is memory loss, but this progressive condition ultimately weakens the immune system and prevents the body from functioning properly. Complications like infections are often the cause of death.

    53 Comments
  • "VSED" as an Advance Directive in Case of Future Dementia

    I want to die with dignity and protect my family. Here's my advance directive to voluntarily stop eating and drinking (VSED) in the event of future dementia or other incapacitating irreversible condition.

    6 Comments
  • Advance Directives to Hasten Death in the Event of Dementia

    I can't abide the idea of subjecting my family to the emotional strain (and financial drain) of my long slide into demented oblivion. There's are ways to prevent that scenario from happening.

    22 Comments
  • Doctors and Patients Getting Paid to Plan for Death

    New bills and recommendations look to pay doctors and patients to chat about end-of-life care plans and advance health care directives.

    8 Comments
  • Advance Directives Ease Anxiety in Dying Dementia Patients

    Dementia patients with end-of-life care instructions in place were three times less likely to experience fear and anxiety in their final days.

    0 Comments
  • What “Solo Agers” Should Know About Planning for the Future

    Some people anticipate aging alone without family, while others find their plans upended by divorce, estrangement or death. Preparing for the possibility of being a solo ager requires extra effort but will prevent unnecessary hardships and stress.

    5 Comments
  • What Caregivers Need to Know About Notarizing for Someone With Dementia

    Essential legal documents for estate planning and long-term care planning often need to be notarized to prove they’re valid. However, notarization can be tricky if a senior has Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia.

    0 Comments
  • Talking About Death and Dying Is Good for Us

    People once avoided certain topics, like talking about death and dying, but that's slowly changing. Here is why those discussions are so important to individual patients, their families and friends.

    4 Comments
  • POLST Programs: When Advance Directives Aren't Enough

    Advance directives are useful for end-of-life care planning, but there's another tool that goes one step further. POLST forms enable terminally ill elders to turn their future care preferences into explicit medical orders for doctors and first responders.

    3 Comments
  • Alzheimer’s Ethics: Not Being Fed When You Can’t Feed Yourself

    There is an entire set of literature about the topic of not feeding at the end of life. It even has its own acronym, VSED (voluntarily stopping eating and drinking).

    2 Comments
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