A Will For The Living

By Jean Chatzky

Could the infamously acrimonious case of Terri Schiavo have been avoided? Thirteen years ago, the Florida woman went into cardiac arrest and lapsed into what some doctors have described as a vegetative state. For the past six years her husband Michael has been battling her parents for the right to remove her feeding tube and allow her to die. Michael Schiavo says he knows this is what his wife would have wanted. Her parents object because they say she is still showing signs of awareness. On Oct. 15 an appeals court sided with him, and the feeding tube was removed. But last week, after Florida Governor Jeb Bush intervened, it was replaced. Ultimately, the decision will probably be made by the supreme court of Florida.

Legal experts agree that much--if not all--of the tragic and costly legal wrangling could have been avoided if Terri Schiavo had written a living will and named a health-care proxy. "There's no question about it," says New York City estate-planning attorney Gideon Rothschild. "The person she named [as her proxy] would have had exclusive rights to make health-care decisions for her."

So why don't most people have one? Marty Kuritz, an estate-planning attorney in San Diego and author of The Beneficiary Book: A Family Information Organizer, says, "Part of the problem is that people aren't sure exactly what these documents are." So what do you need to do?

GET A LIVING WILL In essence, it's a legal document that speaks to doctors and hospitals as well as family members to tell them what you want in the way of medical treatment--including life support--if you're in a condition where you can't express your wishes yourself. Each state has an approved living-will document that is downloadable and free on the website of the not-for-profit partnershipforcaring.org

ENLIST A HEALTH-CARE PROXY You also need a durable power of attorney for health care. This document gives one person the ability to be the medical decision maker if you are unable to make these decisions on your own. It is available on the Partnership for Caring site as well.

ONCE YOU'VE MADE A DECISION ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT YOU WOULD WANT LIFE SUPPORT, YOU HAVE TO FILL IN YOUR LOVED ONES ON THOSE CHOICES The fact that this isn't easy is one reason a combination living will/health-care proxy called the Five Wishes Living Will has gained such a following. Accepted in 35 states, it is written in plain language and asks questions about what kind of medical treatment you would and would not want. Copies of the document ($5 apiece) can be ordered on the website of the not-for-profit group agingwithdignity.org

DISTRIBUTE COPIES TO YOUR DOCTORS, ATTORNEYS AND FAMILY MEMBERS It's easy for a relative who disagrees with your choices to block them--unless you've covered your bases.

Questions? You can e-mail Jean at [email protected]