Hi, I’m JJ Childers, your Monday Morning Mentor. You probably remember the story from a couple of years ago concerning a Florida resident named Teri Schiavo and the battle which raged concerning her healthcare. As you may recall, Teri was in a persistent vegetative-like state and was unable to express her own wishes concerning her health care. As a result, a legal case ensued between Teri’s husband and her parents over who had the right to make choices concerning her future care. As you may recall, Teri’s husband ultimately was given the right to terminate Teri’s life support.
Regardless of whose side you may have been on, one thing which we all can agree on is that if Teri had executed a living will prior to her illness the whole controversy could have been avoided. A living will is a legal document which a person executes to memorialize their wishes regarding their healthcare. In the living will, a person appoints someone as their “healthcare proxy” and enables the proxy to express their previously conveyed wishes to their health care providers in the event that they are unable to do so. A living will need not be overly complicated, but it does need to be properly drafted. Since every state is different, check with your local attorney for more information on how to execute your own living will.
