If the Coronavirus Outbreak Has Prompted You to Get Serious About End-of-Life Directives — We’re Here to Help!

As part of our commitment to helping you make the most of the unusual circumstances during the coronavirus pandemic, the team at Tacoma Elder Care, along with our partners at Smith Alling PS, want to make it as easy as possible for you to experience the peace of mind that comes with proper legal planning.

Referencing a recent MSN article (below), gives several examples of people around the nation who suddenly feel prompted to get going on their end-of-life planning.

We are determined to make it possible for anyone to access our services, even in a time of crisis. This is the perfect time to do some responsible end-of-life planning, which includes preparation of appropriate documents and the advice on how to make sure you have everything in place for your unique circumstances, regardless of what happens.

We are available by phone, email, or via online conferencing on platforms such as Skype or Zoom. Contact us HERE.  Don’t wait, get in touch today!

Some of these are living with underlying health issues that put them at greater risk from COVID-19. Such as 67-year-old Jayne Marlink, a retired Sacramento educator. Who, in spite of many health scares over the past decade, never felt the urgency to put together an advance health directive advising her son what to do if she were to pass. But last week, as she watched the coronavirus pandemic rapidly unfold from her home in California, she decided to write down her final wishes.

End of Life Directives: Danger of Illness Brings Us Face to Face with Need to Plan
Marlink describes herself as vulnerable and “in that target age” so she knew she had to get serious about legal planning. “This has put me face-to-face with my responsibility and what I need to do to make things easier for my son should anything bad happen,” she told MSN. “Before, it was always a conversation my son and I put off, but we finally realized that this is a conversation we need to have now.”

According to the MSN article, many people are coming to the same conclusion. “Similar sobering realizations surrounding mortality have hit scores of individuals who have been voicing their intentions to write medical directives, guardianship designations and other legal contingency plans on various social media outlets over the last two weeks.” Some people are downloading legal templates from the web and trying to prepare emergency documents on their own.

The frightening combination of the pandemic and the near-collapse of the economy is causing people to focus on what one Georgetown professor called “these more personal, intimate and highly consequential issues.” This heightened sense of urgency spans a broad range of people, especially the medically vulnerable, the parents of young children, and those with at-risk family members.

End of Life Directives Guide Medical Professionals and Loved Ones
According to Northwestern University professor of medicine Dr. Kathy Neely, advance directives are essential to guide the medical community.  “In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s really important for everyone to decide who the person is that they trust most to make medical decisions if they couldn’t make those decisions themselves,” she says. “A lot of us are going to get sick, and some of us are going to need that kind of decision making. That’s a choice we all get to make while we’re thinking clearly, so that choice should be thought through right now.” Advanced directives give clarity and help doctors counsel patients and guide decision makers.
 
The MSN article recommends having a legal professional advise you and draft these necessary documents remotely. Which is why we are available by phone, email, or remote access using Skype or Zoom. Contact us HERE.
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(originally reported at www.msn.com)