"Five Wishes"

If you are not familiar with the "Five Wishes" document, you want to find out about it.  There is an excellent discussion of it in Wikipedia.  Basically, Five Wishes is a living will that allows you to address not just your medical wishes for care if you are seriously ill, but also your emotional and spiritual needs.

The Five Wishes involve:

• The Person You Want to Make Care Decisions for Me When You Can't
• The Kind of Medical Treatment You Want or Don't Want
• How Comfortable You Want to Be
• How You Want People to Treat Me
• What You Want Your Loved Ones to Know

Five Wishes is accepted in 42 states, including California, as well as the District of Columbia.  We are starting to see more Five Wishes documents with our home care clients at Support For Home.  Your financial wishes are not covered, of course, so you will probably still want a good trust attorney.

Five Wishes is also not a substitute for a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order, for those folks who do not wish to received CPR. 

Check it out.  It's simple, clear and can save a lot of anguish later.

Best wishes.  Bert