Healthcare & End of Life Directives
Denver Healthcare and End of Life Directives Lawyers
Healthcare directives and end-of-life directives allow you to make decisions about your medical treatment. You choose someone who will carry out your medical and end-of-life wishes in the event that you are unable to do so. The choices you make about your end of life care are important, and the elder law attorneys at Glatstein & O’Brien LLP can help make sure your wishes are carried out.
The attorneys at Glatstein & O’Brien LLP are skilled at drafting and explaining Medical Durable Powers of Attorney, General Durable Powers of Attorney for financial affairs, and Living Wills.
To schedule a initial consultation to discuss a healthcare directive, call our Denver, Colorado office directly at 303-731-3986 or complete the brief intake form located on the Contact Us of this Web site.
Creating a Living Will to Protect Your Medical Decisions
A living will provides an opportunity to express whether you wish to be kept alive by artificial means and whether tube feeding should be continued if it is the only treatment you are receiving. Your living will reinforces your decision to be kept alive on a machine or to be allowed to die naturally.
One main downfall of a Living Will is that a doctor won’t act under the Living Will unless all the family members are in agreement. That’s why it is important to have a strong individual acting as your Medical Power of Attorney so your agent can make certain your wishes are carried out even if some of your family members do not support your wishes.
Establishing a Medical Power of Attorney
A Medical Power of Attorney is broader than a Living Will. Your agent will have the power to make all medical decisions on your behalf. To create a Medical Power of Attorney, you have to select an agent to represent you and advocate for your medical decisions. It is important that you choose someone who will do what you want, not what they want. If your agent is not strong-willed enough to withstand pressure from family and friends, they may not follow through with what you want done.
We recommend that when you select an individual to serve as your agent under a Medical Power of Attorney, you communicate with your potential agent to make certain that they know and will carry out your wishes. Doing so will protect you from having the doctor, legislature or court deciding when to pull the plug. That is your decision to make.
Experienced Healthcare and End-of-Life Directive Attorneys
It is important to let your family know your wishes, independent of any established healthcare directive so they are aware of your choices. Explaining your end-of- life choices should aid in avoiding a drawn out battle among family members and court litigation on the issue of your medical decisions. Contact Glatstein & O’Brien LLP attorneys to set up your healthcare directive.