Continuing from my last post...

2) Did you know that the default health care decision maker, under Indiana law, is a group of people?  Unless you have made out a designation of health care representative or have a legal guardian, your health care decisions can be made by your parents, your brothers and sisters, your spouse, and your adult children – AND THERE IS NO PRIORITY IN THAT GROUP.  In other words, they all have the same level of authority.  This can lead to problems or a stalemate.  Now think about what happens in a hospital or nursing home when there is a disagreement between family members about what health care decision to make for a person.  I can tell you that standard procedure in a hospital is to get the entire group together and try to mediate the dispute.  However, when you think about it, that is not what your advance directive says.  It does not say, if I cannot make a decision, mediate the dispute among anyone making a noise about it.  It says a specific person is named to make a decision when I cannot.  The designated health care representative may have to point out that they, and not the group, have the authority.

Please check next week for a third situation of how things can progress differently than planned with respect to advance directives.