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KEY CONSIDERATIONS for your PERSONAL DIRECTIVE
Legally protect your health and medical interests while still alive, yet incapable of acting for yourself due to personal incapacity.
To schedule an appointment, contact our law firm at 403-400-4092 or Chris@NeufeldLegal.com
Given the significance of a personal directive, which addresses medical and other health-related matters, should you become incapacitated, or otherwise be unable to make decisions for yourself, it is important that your personal directive is drafted to reflect your intentions and preferences, with a particular emphasis being placed on a number of key considerations, including:
A. Choosing Your Health Care Agent (Representative)
The person you appoint to speak on your behalf is perhaps the most critical part of your directive. They may be called your Agent, Proxy, Surrogate, or Representative.
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Trust and Reliability: Choose someone you trust completely to understand and honor your values and wishes, even if they conflict with that person's own beliefs.
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Ability to Advocate: Select someone who can remain level-headed under stress, communicate clearly, and advocate effectively for your choices with doctors and family members.
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Willingness to Serve: Make sure the person is willing, able, and available to act when the time comes.
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Primary and Alternate(s): Name at least one alternate agent in case your first choice is unavailable, unwilling, or unable to act.
B. Clarifying Your Treatment Wishes (Living Will)
Your directive should provide clear instructions for a variety of medical situations, often summarized in a "Living Will" section. Consider your preferences for the following life-sustaining treatments:
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Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR): Do you want your heart restarted if it stops beating?
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Mechanical Ventilation (Breathing Machines): Do you want to be placed on a ventilator? If so, for how long and under what conditions (e.g., only if recovery is likely)?
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Artificial Nutrition and Hydration (Feeding Tubes): Do you want food and water provided via a tube? If so, for how long?
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Dialysis: Do you want treatment to remove waste and excess fluid from your blood if your kidneys fail?
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Antibiotics/Antiviral Medications: Do you want infections aggressively treated, or would you prefer to let them run their course if you are near the end of life?
C. Defining Your Values and Quality of Life
The most effective directives move beyond a simple list of "yes/no" treatments and explain what makes life worth living to you. Your Agent will use this information to make decisions in situations you couldn't anticipate.
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Goals of Care: What are your primary goals for future medical treatment? (e.g., extending life at all costs, maximizing comfort, being able to recognize loved ones).
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Personal Values: What is your personal definition of a "good quality of life"? How important are factors like independence, self-sufficiency, memory, and cognitive function to you?
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Fears and Concerns: Write down your biggest worries about future medical care, such as being a burden, experiencing prolonged pain, or being kept alive in a persistent vegetative state.
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Pain Management (Palliative/Comfort Care): Be explicit that you want pain and suffering minimized, even if strong medications could cause drowsiness or hasten death.
D. Other Important Considerations
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Organ and Tissue Donation: Clearly state your wishes regarding organ and tissue donation. If you wish to donate, understand that you may need to be kept on life support temporarily for the donation process.
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Location of Care: Where would you prefer to receive care toward the end of your life? (e.g., at home, a hospice facility, or a hospital).
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Spiritual and Cultural Practices: Include any specific religious, spiritual, or cultural practices that you wish to have followed regarding your care or after death.
E. Sharing and Reviewing
A Personal Directive is useless if no one knows it exists.
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Distribute Copies: Give copies to your Health Care Agent, alternate(s), your primary care physician, close family members, and keep one in an accessible location (not a safety deposit box).
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Discuss Your Wishes: Have open, honest, and repeated conversations with your Agent and loved ones about what is written in the directive.
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Review and Update: Review and update your directive periodically (e.g., every five years) and whenever you experience a major life event, such as a new diagnosis, a change in marital status, or a change in your Agent's availability.
Whether you are looking to have a personal directive created or require legal representation in the implementation of an incapacitated person’s personal directive, contact our law firm today at 403-400-4092 or via email at Chris@NeufeldLegal.com to schedule a confidential initial consultation.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This website is designed for general informational purposes. The site is not designed to answer specific questions about your individual situation or entitlement. Do not rely upon the information provided on this website as legal advice in respect of your individual situation nor use it as substitute for individual legal advice. If you want specific legal advice, you need to engage a lawyer under established legal engagement procedures that have been specifically agreed to by that lawyer.
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