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Planning for the End of Life: Advance Directives
The following information on advance directives has been
generously provided by the
Partnership to Improve End-of-Life Care in Utah
Utah law provides legally enforceable ways to convey your wishes to medical providers if you are unable to do so. The law provides four separate documents that you should complete to communicate your wishes about medical treatment to loved ones and healthcare providers. These four legally binding documents are: (1)Living Will, (2) Medical Treatment Plan, (3) Special Power of Attorney for Healthcare, and (4) EMS/DNR Directive.
So long as you are able to make decisions for yourself, you do not need
a living will to provide enforceable instructions to your healthcare providers
about your own end-of-life care. You do not need a living will to tell
your doctor that you do not want life-sustaining treatments if you can
tell her yourself; your direct instructions to your healthcare providers
are legally enforceable.
After you fill out any of advance directive forms, you should provide copies and discuss your wishes with the following people: (1) the person who holds the Special Power of Attorney for Healthcare, (2) family members, and (3) your physician. Copies should also be provided to the hospital where you are likely to receive treatment. You should keep the original documents in a safe place that can be accessed by others who will be making your healthcare decisions for you if you are unable to make them yourself.
While the focus of this discussion is on the legal requirements, it is
impossible to stress too much the importance of communication. If you
have preferences about end-of-life care, you must communicate these preferences
to your physician, your healthcare proxy, and your family. These are the
people who will make decisions about your healthcare if you are not able
to do so. If they do not know your preferences, they cannot carry out
your wishes, which may render the advance directives that you prepare
useless.
One final note on the limitations of advance directives: as noted above, these documents come into play only if you are unable to make or communicate decisions for yourself. If you are of sound mind, you have the legal right to state your preferences to your care provider and your preferences should be honored, whether or not you have completed a living will or medical treatment plan.
Revoking Advance Directives
To revoke an advance directive, you may destroy the old one, write “revoked”
across the old one, write a new one, or orally express your desire to
revoke it. If you orally revoke the advance directive, you should do so
in the presence of an adult witness who should then sign and date a written
statement confirming that you have revoked your advance directive.
Printable Forms:
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