Durham and Chapel Hill estate planning attorneys don’t just help you make a will — they help you to prepare for the future. This includes thoughtfully considering what could occur if you suffer a serious medical emergency, such as an unexpected injury or a grave illness. Sometimes, injuries and illnesses happen without warning and can leave you unable to communicate or unable to express your preference regarding whether you want to receive medical care or not. 
You don’t want to find yourself in a situation where there are questions about the medical care you’ll get and there’s no way for you to consent to care or say enough is enough and stop care calculated to extend your life. Unfortunately, this can happen if you’ve been suddenly hurt or struck ill and it can create a lot of stress for families. One way for people in North Carolina to limit that stress and to maintain autonomy in regards to the care you receive is to create a Living Will and Health Care Power of Attorney.
Making advanced directives is very important and you should reach out to Clarity Legal Group for help with this process. Our dedicated and compassionate legal team will make the process of creating advanced directives easy. We understand it’s not something you like to think about, but we guide you through the process and help to ensure that your advanced directives are legally enforceable.
You should give us a call to get personalized advice about the creation of an Advance Directive for a Natural Death, sometimes called a Living Will. I’ve got a few basic thoughts on why this is an important documents to create.
Advanced Directives Give You Control Over Care
If you create advanced directives, you get to be the one to make life and death decisions — to specify what kind of care you want if you are at death’s door or facing a permanent unconscious state. If is your personal values that will apply to deciding whether you should be kept alive using extraordinary means or allowed to pass as peacefully as possible.
Often, it is a very difficult judgement call to decide whether to try to prolong someone’s life or not. Decisions need to be made regarding whether quantity or quality of life matters most. You are in the best position to make those decisions for yourself and advanced directives give you the power to make those choices even if you cannot speak up for yourself at the time when the decision must be made.
Your Family Won’t Be Put Into a Situation to Make Difficult Choices
If you haven’t made advanced directives, someone is going to have to make the choice about medical care you receive in an emergency. Your family will be put in a position to decide whether to consent to life saving care or not. When a famnily member is making this decision for you, their owns fears and grief can weigh heavily in the process. Your loved ones may not know whether you’d have wanted care to prolong your life or not. This can be really difficult because they may be left feeling like there is no good option.
Your loved ones could disagree about whether to approve care or not, which would be an even worse situation because this could lead to fighting that destroys family ties. In a worst-case scenario, the issue could even end up in court which is not something that anyone wants to see happen.
And, your family could be left feeling a lot of guilt if they make the decision not to use a feeding tube or to turn off a ventilator that is keeping you alive. If you don’t want your loved ones to be forced into this position, it is best if you make advanced directives so it is clear what your choice would be.
Timely Decisions on Care Can be Made
When decisions need to be made in an emergency, advanced directives give doctors the guidance to go on so they will know what your preferences would have been and so they can act decisively in making decisions about your care. In any event, it is important to understand that your family or loved ones can be given a seat at the table to take a role in this decision under a properly exeucted Health Care Power of Attorney. The person or people you designate as your decision maker for health care matters can — at your choice — either be decision makers guided by an expression of preference in your Living Will, or advocates, ensuring that accurate and careful implementation of your legally enforcable decision made in advance through the Living Will. Ask a lawyer at Clarity Legal Group about the difference.
Getting Help from Durham Estate Planning Attorneys
The Durham estate planning attorneys at Clarity Legal Group will offer personalized help and support with the creation of legally valid advanced directives so you can take control over your future. If you want to make sure that you decide on the care you need, and if you want to protect your family from having to make tough choices that leave them grappling with guilt, you should reach out to our compassionate and knowledgeable legal team today.
To get help with your advanced directives, give us a call at 919-484-0012 or contact us online now.
by Mark Costley
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