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(EMAILWIRE.COM, April 08, 2011 ) Port St. Lucie, Florida - The South Florida elder law attorneys of The Karp Law Firm are doing their part to educate Florida residents about the importance of Advance Healthcare Directives in light of National Healthcare Decisions Day, which is April 16. The firm strives to clear up the many misconceptions the public has about this sensitive subject, and to help their clients put the proper legal planning in place.
Most Americans strongly believe that they have the right to make their own choices about end-of-life care without court interference, according to a 2006 a 2006 Pew study. Yet the study also showed that less than 30% of Americans have a valid Living Will - the very document that would allow them to control their medical destiny at the end of life if they are unable to communicate their own wishes.
The elder law attorneys of The Karp Law Firm encourage clients to consider creating a living will. A living will is a written document that expresses what kind of life-extending care a person wants or doesn't want if the person is ever in a terminal or end-stage condition, or in a persistent vegetative state. A living will in Florida must comply with Florida Statutes Section 765.03 and be properly executed and witnessed. One of the witnesses may not be a blood relative or spouse of the maker.
The benefits of a living will are not limited to the client. In fact, the greatest benefit may well be to the client's family. Loved ones who are called on to make tough decisions about an elderly patient's health care can face an emotional minefield. A recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine and reported in the LA Times (see http://articles.latimes.com/2011/feb/28/news/la-heb-end-of-life-decisions-20110228) reveals that 70% of hospitalized elderly patients cannot make decisions for themselves. About a third of the surrogates who had to make these patients' end-of-life decisions found the experience to be very traumatic. Many second-guessed themselves, and some were distressed stressed well beyond the point of their loved one's death. The surrogates who fared better emotionally were the ones whose loved one had created a Living Will for the surrogate to use for guidance.
There are many types of advance directives in addition to the living will. Each of these advance directives apply to a different type of situation. An experienced elder law attorney will be able to help a client understand the differences among them, choose those documents that are best suited to the client's situation, and ensure that those documents accurately and unambiguously express the client's values and health care preferences.
Lawyer Genny Bernstein is a member of the national attorney network on LawyerCentral.com.
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