When you are unable to speak for yourself due to an illness or injury, your health care providers may be unclear as to what type of care you would prefer.
A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that one out of four elderly people require someone else to make decisions about their medical care at the end of their lives.
Advance Directives are essential as a means of making end-of-life care and treatment preferences. The study found that such formal estate planning documents improved the likelihood that a patient’s wishes would be followed and reduced emotional trauma among family members.
Advance Directives are legal documents to help make decisions about the medical treatment and care of someone who might become seriously ill or injured and cannot make their own decisions.
It is important for every adult person to create Advance Directives to maximise their quality of life so that personal values and religious or cultural preferences are taken into consideration when they lose the ability to make decisions in their own best interests near the end of their lives.
It is a legal mechanism to either state their wishes about the sort of care they want later in life, or alternatively to appoint trusted agents to make the decisions for them.
Every adult should make the effort to clearly define and record their medical treatment and end-of-life wishes. Everyone should have this important conversation with their loved ones, specifying what they want out of their final years, how they want to be cared-for, and where they want to live.
For the right advice and guidance in Estate Planning and Wills in Adelaide and throughout South Australia, come to Genders & Partners, the oldest (and one of the most respected) law firms in South Australia. We have the knowledge, experience, and sensitivity to see to it that your Living Wills or Advance Directives can give you the health care that you want. We have been helping South Australians protect themselves, their families, and their assets since 1848.
Contact Genders&Partners today. Claim Your FREE 15 minute Telephone Consultation Today! Call us on (08) 8212 7233
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Living Wills In Adelaide: Advance Directives Ensure You Get Quality Care