And what you need to know about a Living Will during the COVID-19 pandemic.
When you are admitted to the hospital for treatment, you will be asked if you have any estate planning documents like a “Living Will”. In Texas, we call this document a “Directive to Physicians and Family or Surrogates” (or “Advance Medical Directive”, for short). But what is this estate planning document really about for our clients based in the Dallas, Plano, McKinney, Frisco, Allen, & Prosper area?
A “Living Will”, or Advance Medical Directive, is your legal way of telling your family and doctors whether you want “life-sustaining treatment” if you become gravely ill. A “life-sustaining treatment” is exactly how it sounds–a medical treatment that keeps you alive no matter your underlying diagnosis. In Texas, a “life-sustaining treatment” could include food and water administered through a tube in your vein, or through your gastrointestinal tract. It could also include “mechanical breathing machines”, or “ventilator”, as the term is more frequently used in the news lately.
Living Will, Ventilators, and COVID-19.
The American Thoracic Society has explained that “[a ventilator] helps support a person until other treatments become effective, or the person gets better on their own.” However, in the case of COVID-19, there is currently no known cure or vaccine. There is also a lot of speculation about how this novel illness should be treated. Yet, there is ongoing public and private planning surrounding ventilator use and the availability of ventilators during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, not only should you be discussing the risks and benefits of ventilator use with your medical providers, you should also communicate with your loved ones about your wishes for end-of-life-care and estate plan.
With so much unknown about COVID-19 right now, having these discussions is at least one way to provide some certainty during life. A Living Will allows you to state in advance, not only whether you approve the use of a ventilator when your life is threatened by COVID-19, but also place conditions on its use.
If you have further questions about a Living Will or Advance Medical Directive here in the Dallas, Plano, McKinney, Frisco, Allen, & Prosper area, contact me, a local estate planning attorney, to discuss further.
For questions about the risks and benefits of utilizing life-sustaining treatments such as a ventilator, please speak with your treating medical provider.