The man pictured on the far right was my father. Because of criminal, abusive caregivers, I sought Guardianship and Conservatorship of Dad through the courts of Oregon. Even with the services of an attorney, the support of Adult Protective Services, and a court appointed visitor, the legal process took an entire year! By the time my family rescued Dad, his “health care” had dangerously weakened him and his sizeable estate had been entirely liquidated. How could this happen? Like many, Dad had planned well for his death, but he did not anticipate his decline. This is a common yet disastrous mistake.
To avoid being so victimized, select a responsible person to be your Medical Advocate at the same time you are doing your estate planning. You can legally empower them for this role with a Power of Attorney for Health Care or an Advance Directive. Heritage of Hope suggests you have many thoughtful discussions with this person, so they are well acquainted with your preferences before they are faced with a serious medical decision. If you do not have knowledgeable, responsible family or friends you wish to entrust with these roles, there are professional Guardians and Conservators available. https://www.guardianship.org/ also offers guardianship training for family guardians. Please do not force your family to pursue Guardianship and perhaps Conservatorship in the courts as I had to do by failing to appoint yourself a Medical Representative. Setting up a Power of Attorney for Health Care as well as a plan for your decline can avoid a boat load of problems later in life and allow your family to honor you as the Bible instructs.
Attorney Ken Baker recommends the (1) POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR HEALTH CARE form. It authorizes your chosen person to be your Medical Representative yet preserves their freedom to make the best decision for you in circumstances that cannot be predicted. There is a sample of this form in this Household section of your Heritage of Hope Workbook. When you choose your Medical Rep, you are entrusting your care to this person should you decline physically and/or mentally. It is very important to have numerous, in-depth discussions with this person about your health, and how you wish to steward it. In the Health portion of your Heritage of Hope Workbook, there is a section called YOUR 4TH QUARTER GAME PLAN. There you will find two pages of questions to help you think about your possible decline and how you, your Medical Advocate, and your support team might best deal with it. Please ponder these questions, pray, consider your resources, discuss your options in team meetings, and then create your personal 4th quarter game plan.
(2) ADVANCE DIRECTIVES are forms issued by most states. There is a sample in the Household Section of your Heritage of Hope Workbook. While an Advance Directive form does enable you to appoint your Medical Representative, it also asks numerous questions about the types of care you would prefer at the end-of-this-life. Please realize that answering all these questions now in a legal, notarized form will limit your Medical Rep’s decision-making later. Medical personnel are bound by the instructions contained in your Advance Directive. This is what placed Scott Stuart’s family in conflict with his father’s medical team. . . his dad’s Advance Directive. To avoid the crisis faced by Scott Stuart’s family, we strongly suggest that you only use the Advance Directive as a means to legally appoint your Medical Representative and/or for discussion. It is recommended that you discuss all these end-of-this-life care options in some detail with your Medical Rep. Please be aware that some of these health care options would disqualify you for Hospice. Your Medical Rep needs to be fully aware of how you wish to steward your final days of this life.
Five Wishes is another type of an Advance Directive, but it is not valid in all states. However, Five Wishes is unique is assisting you and your family in planning for your care during the actual process of dying. Whether or not you use this form, its questions are well worth a discussion with your support team and Medical Rep.
Thirdly, if you fail to legally appoint yourself a Medical Advocate using one of the forms above, your loved ones may be forced to obtain this right by means of the court system as I had to do with my father. To obtain (3) LETTERS OF GUARDIANSHIP (oversight of health care) AND CONSERVATORSHIP (oversight of finances), your people must prove you to be incompetent. As Attorney Ken Baker has said, “It is an expensive, time consuming and far from an honoring process.” The wheels of justice turn very slowly as they should. Those seeking Guardianship and/or Conservatorship are essentially removing all rights from an individual.
The 4th medical form, the (4) POLST FORM (Physicians Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment), is intended to give seriously ill patients more control over their end-of-life care. If you are at home when a medical emergency occurs and someone calls 911, the emergency responders are mandated to do everything to save your life UNLESS you have a POLST FORM posted on your refrigerator stating other preferences such as “comfort measures only.” There is a sample of the POLST FORM in the Household section of your Heritage of Hope Workbook, but this form can only be filled out with your physician.
In review, there is a very important health care decision to be made long before death. Who do you wish to be overseeing your care when you can no longer do so? You may legally appoint this person your Medical Advocate by notarizing a (1) Power of Attorney for Health Care or an (2) Advance Directive and avoid the need of a (3) court appointed Guardian. It is highly recommended that you thoroughly discuss your health care with this person as well as your end-of-this-life preferences. Would you prefer Hospice care in the comfort of your own home for the last six months of your life? If you prefer Hospice, you are choosing to limit your health care to comfort measures only and will need to post a (4) POLST Form stating the same on your refrigerator in that season of life.
As Solomon said, There is a time to die. Legally preparing for that time is an important and kind way to love your people and protect yourself.
