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Document Your Health-Care Wishes
by Kimberly Lankford

I read about that case where the woman in Florida's family was fighting over whether or not to keep her on life support. What can I do to make sure my family doesn't end up in this situation?

Two documents can go a long way toward making sure your wishes are followed -- and can be valuable to have no matter how old you are.

A durable power of attorney for health care appoints someone to be your health-care agent (or proxy) to make medical decisions for you if you become incapacitated -- whether it's at the end of your life or if you're unable to make your own medical decisions because you've become unconscious as a result of an accident or other temporary condition. It's best if the document gives that person a lot of flexibility in all kinds of circumstances, because you never know what may happen.

A living will spells out what kind of medical treatment you do and do not want if you can't speak for yourself. This document generally applies only if you're terminally ill or in a persistent vegetative state. Rather than just say "no heroic measures," talk with your doctor about what these terms could actually mean, then include specifics in the living will.

An estate-planning attorney will generally charge $100 to $500 to prepare these documents for you. For more information, see the Consumer's Tool Kit for Health Care Advance Planning, available from the American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging. You also can find a lot of good advice and sample forms in the book Living Wills and Health Care Proxies, written by estate-planning attorney Martin Shenkman, and in Nolo Press's Healthcare Directives and Powers of Attorney page.