There are two kinds of "advance directives" that are designed to “speak” for your parent regarding their health care needs in the event that your parent can no longer speak for themselves.  One is a living will, which spells out in advance your parent’s desires regarding any life-sustaining medical treatments in the event they are incapacitated.  The other is a health-care proxy (also called a Power of Attorney for Heath Care) which appoints someone to make these decisions regarding their care in their place.  Both are essential in providing your parent the peace of mind and protection that they will either receive the life-sustaining measures they desire or have identified certain procedures they want to avoid.  While most everyone would agree that these documents are essential, very few people actually have them in place.  Here are a few things to think about regarding each:

A Living Will

• This document provides direction regarding your parent’s wishes as to whether any aggressive treatments should be used to prolong their lives.  It only takes effect when your parent is close to death.
• An example of those wishes might be for them to want to pass away without pain and advanced medical treatment in the event that there is no reasonable chance for recovery.
• Likewise, they might provide very broad wishes and ask to be kept alive by any means necessary.  It could also be very specific, such as to have artificial nutrition, but not be put on an artificial respirator.

A Health Care Proxy

• This is a much broader authority that provides someone your parent trusts to make these end-of-life and medical decisions for them rather than spell them out ahead of time.
• Be sure that the person your parent appoints is someone they trust that can make these decisions for them and that will have full access to your parent’s medical records.

Both documents must be executed while your parent is fully competent, so don’t wait to talk to them about each.  There are state specific requirements in what needs to appear in each of them and when they become effective (ie, some states define “terminally ill” differently), so be sure to consult with an attorney who can help prepare both documents and provide you the proper guidance.