The recent intense media coverage of Terri Schiavo, the 41-year-old Florida woman who died last week after suffering severe brain damage 15 years ago, has caused many people to consider putting their end-of-life wishes into a legally recognized document. But which document is best? The answer requires understanding the legalese of advance medical planning. The list below will get you started.
Living will. Instruction on treatment you would or would not want if you were terminally ill, permanently unconscious or at the end stage of a fatal illness. Can include instructions for continuing or discontinuing life support or other treatments.
Health care power of attorney (also called agent, surrogate or proxy). A document in which you appoint someone to make health care decisions for you if you are unable to speak for yourself.
Advance medical directive (also called advanced health care directive or advance directive). An "umbrella term that covers any decision that you make and put down on paper about what you'd want to happen [if] you're sick and no longer able to speak for yourself," said Paul Malley, president of Aging With Dignity, a Florida-based nonprofit organization. There are many all-in-one advance directives available that allow people to combine their living will and health care power of attorney wishes into one document.
-- January W. Payne
