A series of interesting circumstances landed me in the hospital last July. The admitting clerk in the ER scolded me for not having a living will or patient advocate designation (PAD). I didn’t appreciate her concern at the time, but her point is well taken. I should stop procrastinating and draft a PAD.
I’ve put it off largely because I don’t know who to name. I don’t have a spouse, my children are very young, and my parents don’t live nearby. I know many of you probate practitioners routinely counsel clients with the same concerns.
As luck would have it, I’ve worked with several wonderful lawyers over the past year on this very topic. In a set of Top Tips in Ten Minutes, Joan Skrzyniarz lays out talking points for discussing PADs with clients. I learned that my concern over naming a nonlocal advocate isn’t really an issue. Instead, I should focus on who best in my life will be able to bear the burden of end-of-life decisions. It was neat to see Joan put these tips into action when she counseled clients (actors) in a video demonstration for the new online Elder Law Certificate Program. She showed how to thoroughly answer common client questions in a compassionate way.
I also justified burying my head in the sand because I assumed that the hospital would seek guidance from my family if something dire happened to me—and that my family would somehow know what to do. Believing that I will maybe generate telepathic abilities if in a persistent vegetative state is obviously a bad stance. So too is assuming that the hospital would be able to rely on decisions by my family without legal authority. As Andy Broder and Brian Jenney explain in a recent on-demand seminar, in practice, some hospitals will follow family member direction for end-of-life decisions even when there isn’t a guardianship or patient advocate in place. But that approach is legally fraught.
Once I stop coming up with further reasons to drag my feet, I’ll be sure to put my PAD in my freezer and glove box, as Andy suggests. Until then, fingers crossed for good health.