Expert gives seniors legal advise at community center
People should realize that the only way to ensure their wishes are followed, should they become incapacitated, is to understand and have advance directives for health care, such as living wills and powers of attorney. That was the advice that Robert Brenner, director of Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Services (SPLAS), gave to a group of seniors Friday at the Uniontown Community Center.
Brenner and other attorneys defined powers of attorney and living wills as advance directives and explained what they do, why they are necessary, the risks entailed in not having them and what is involved in preparing them.
The SPLAS provides free legal counsel to those who could not afford it otherwise.
Brenner said Pennsylvania residents have the right to decide whether to accept, reject or discontinue medical care and treatment.
“These matters can and will affect everyone at some point,” he said. “It can be hard for some people to contemplate his or her own death, but you need to think about it and make decisions. If you don’t make decisions, others will be forced to make the decisions for you.”
Without advance directives, Brenner said, expensive and lengthy court battles can occur in extreme circumstances, such as the Terri Schiavo case.
The battle between Schiavo’s parents and her husband, Michael, over whether the 41-year-old woman should be connected to a feeding tube went on for years. Schiavo’s parents argued that their daughter, who did not have a living will, would have wanted to be kept alive. Her husband said that Schiavo told him she did not want to be kept alive artificially. After a drawn-out court battle, state courts sided with Schiavo’s husband and the tube was removed. She died two weeks later, after surviving on the feeding tube for more then a decade.
Though cases similar to Schiavo’s do not usually receive national press coverage, lawyers say they frequently occur. Families often are forced to decide if their loved one would want to be hooked up to a ventilator or connected to a feeding tube.
And if the patient did not have a living will, it makes the decision that much harder for family members, said attorney John Purcell of the Davis & Davis law firm.
Purcell, a member of SPLAS, said advance directives are legal, written documents that people can use, under certain circumstances, to tell others what care they would like to receive or not receive, should they become unable to express their wishes at a later time.
An advance directive can take many forms and is commonly referred to as a living will. Purcell said a living will describes the kind of life-sustaining treatment individuals want or do not want if they are unable to express their wishes to their doctor at a later date. Any person who is at least 18 years old, a high school graduate or married can make a living will, he said.
Another option in addition to having a living will, Purcell said, is a power of attorney document. Those creating a power of attorney designate someone to make decisions for them, should they be unable to make decisions at some point in time. Any competent person who is at least 18 years old can create a power of attorney.
In legal terms, Purcell said, power of attorney allows a person to designate an agent who then acts for and on behalf of the person and has a duty to act consistently in the best interests of that person, he said. A health care power of attorney allows the agent to make medical decisions for the person and can contain specific directions for the agent.
“The agent should be someone you really trust, someone who shares your values and understands what you want,” Purcell said.
Both documents can specify whether, and under what circumstances, the principal would want cardiac or mechanical respiration, a feeding tube, blood transfusions, surgery or invasive diagnostic tests, dialysis and antibiotics. Purcell also said the documents can be created without a lawyer and are legal as long as they are signed by both the principal and agent with witnesses present.
However, he recommended people have a lawyer create the advance directives because they are legal documents that can become tricky, depending on how specific they are. He said most lawyers charge a fee, around $200, to create both living will and power of attorney documents.
Purcell said living will and power of attorney documents can be altered at any time, as long as the principal person still has the mental capacity to do so. The principal, he said, has the right to revoke, terminate or modify the power of attorney at any time.
“Often, dealing with legal issues can be complicated, and that deters many people from making good, well-thought out choices, said state Rep. Larry Roberts (D-South Union Twp.).
Roberts, who helped organize the seminar, said the session was designed “to make the process less complex” in regards to creating living wills and establishing powers of attorney.
The seminar was the first in a series of three that will address topics concerning senior citizens and their families. Future seminars will address the topics of dealing effectively with health-care facilities and avoiding missteps in Medicare and Medicaid.
For more information about future seminars, call Roberts’ office at 724-439-2329.