Helping Clients Take Control of Their Medical Treatment in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area and throughout Missouri and Illinois
Advance healthcare directives give you the control to make decisions regarding your health. These directives instruct doctors on how you wish to be treated if you are incapacitated. All competent patients have the right to refuse medical treatment or stop a medical treatment that is being administered. Advance healthcare directives put in writing your treatment wishes when you cannot speak or make decisions because you are incapacitated.
Families often take comfort in advance healthcare directives because with the directives they can be sure that they made the right decision on how to treat a loved one during his or her final days. These directives are legally complicated documents, and should always be drafted and executed with the assistance of an experienced estate planning lawyer.
Differences Between Living Will and Other Healthcare Directives
A well-known type of advance healthcare directive is a living will. Living wills are limited in the situations they cover. Living wills only control what medical care you receive if death is imminent.
However, the courts have recognized that patients have the right to direct their medical care through documents besides a living will. These advance directives can be tailored to the patient’s needs and desires.
Examples of Advance Healthcare Directives
Advance healthcare directives can include when feeding tubes and IV hydration should be stopped. They can also lay out how long certain treatments can be administered before stopping them. You can also include whether you want to donate organ or tissue.
Contact a St. Louis Advance Healthcare Directive Attorney
If you are interested in creating advance healthcare directives, speak with a skilled estate planning lawyer to determine how your medical wishes can be fulfilled through these documents.
At Kilo Flynn, we are aware that these directives are important to you and your family and will treat drafting them with the utmost respect and care. We work with clients throughout the Missouri and Illinois, including the City of St. Louis, and the surrounding Missouri counties of St. Louis, St. Charles, Lincoln, Jefferson, Franklin and Crawford; and the Illinois counties of Madison, St. Clair and Monroe, to name a few. Call our office today at 314-647-8910 for a free consultation.