Americans are reluctant to spend much time contemplating their death. Strange, because death is the ultimate destination on life’s journey. Most of us spend a lot of time planning our vacations, but few of us put a personalized plan in-place for what we want when we become unable to make medical decisions for ourselves. Given that it is less and less likely that our personal physician will be at the hospital at the time we face life-threatening conditions, medical professionals who are strangers to us will be in-charge of our care.
These decisions don’t just come as we are dying – they frequently come as the result of cognitive impairments and other debilitating conditions. We need to make our wishes known about what we want if our condition prevents a return to a meaningful life – and this means different things to each of us. We also need to document our wishes if we become unable to care for ourselves – do we wish to age in-place or move to an assisted living community?
Documentation of who we want to be our guardian in the event we become incapacitated helps prevent the appointment of a professional guardian to decide our care and living conditions. Personalized wills and trust documents are important guides to the disposition of our money and property after our death. They safeguard those we love. A personalized medical plan provides a road map for our care during incapacity and at the time of our impending death. This road map provides guidance and comfort to those who love you when they must make critical medical decisions on your behalf. These decisions should not be left to strangers or family members in crisis.