West Palm Beach Living Will Attorney

The Terry Schiavo case demonstrates the importance of establishing a living will. A living will allows you to specify what kinds of end of life decisions should be made, who can make them, and what, if any, resuscitation techniques can be employed to save your life or keep you alive. As a result, a living will speaks for you if you are suffering from an end stage condition, a persistent vegetative state, or a terminal illness which has left you unable to “speak” for yourself with your medical providers. This can relieve your family from the burden of having to decide what should be done, leaving them comfortable in the knowledge that your wishes were followed.

At the law office of Craig F. Snyder, we explain the options available to you when creating a living will. We also evaluate your existing estate plan in order to ensure your living will compliments or reinforces other estate planning tools you already have in place.

Contact our office to schedule an appointment and receive the information you need to start planning for tomorrow today.

Health Care Power of Attorney

A Health Care Power of Attorney indicates what you want done in cases involving serious fatal or non-fatal medical events. For instance, if you are in the end stages of Alzheimer's disease, you may indicate that you want your feeding tube removed after a certain period of time. Alternatively, if you are in a catastrophic accident that leaves you brain dead or severely burned, you may specify that life resuscitation techniques not be employed or extended beyond a certain time. This type of document may nominate people to serve as a health care surrogate, proxy, or other legally recognized representative.

This is especially important, since under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), medical information cannot be shared with family members, spouses, or domestic partners unless a HIPAA waiver has been signed. Additionally, a Health Care Power of Attorney allows you to indicate a pre-need guardian to serve and act for you, relative to your health care, physical, and emotional well being.

Questions? Contact Living Will Attorney Craig F. Snyder Today

The court's are always there to protect us if needed, but the Schiavo case teaches us that there are simple solutions to avoid the legal process to determine what we want for our health care whether end of life or before.