Living Will and Health Care Proxy
October 19, 2008 by RickBryan
Here’s a short video clip which explains two of the most common documents in Estate Planning and Elder Law: the Living Will and the Health Care Proxy. Below the video you’ll find a couple of links to blank forms you can print out and complete. Please read the instructions carefully, and leave a comment if you have any questions.
New York’s Health Care Proxy web page
Commpassion and Support website discussing end of life issues.
New York Living Will and Health Care Proxy
October 14, 2008 by RickBryan
Here’s the second video of much better quality; not perfect, but getting better. The topic of Livings Wills and Health Care Proxies is one of the most common subjects of estate planning and elder law related conversation. I added this video so you have a relatively simple way of helping your New York clients understand the Living Will and Health Care Proxy. As you may know, most attorneys do not recommend a Living Will for their New York resident clients. The reason is that in New York we have the Health Care Proxy statute; in New York, the Health Care Proxy is the legislatively authorized mechanism for substitute decision making as to medical issues, including end of life issues. While a Living Will may be recognized as “clear and convincing evidence” of a person’s wishes regarding end of life decisions, such a determination may need to be made by a court(s) after a long and drawn out trial on the issue of one’s right to die. Why go through all that? However, our friend Suze (god bless her) is constantly talking about the importance of having a Living Will, and so our clients hear this over and over again. Unfortunately, Suze probably doesn’t know about New York’s Health Care Proxy law, which is far superior to a Living Will when it comes to having control over end of life decisions. In any event, I’m also posting this video to RickBryan.com, where it will be easier for your clients to access. I’ll put up samples of Living Wills and the New York State Department of Health’s version of the Health Care Proxy for download.