The plan, the plan, who's got the plan

It's a vague memory to be sure but I do have a memory of when life was simpler.  All you had to worry about toward the end of your life was how to write your will so that the good guys got your money and the bad guys got your bills.  Dyeing without a will was a sign of carelessness that would allow attorneys from anywhere to steal your heirs blind.

But these sorts of wills grew larger and larger to cover all contingencies.  We worried that we had missed somebody or treated someone unkindly.  And for the will to become effective and useful, you had to die. Sort of like having a gun to shoot that package of meat you just bought.  Attorneys quickly pointed out that a form predating the will, the Power of Attorney, would already take care of these items.  Specialized power of attorney documents began filling safe deposit boxes.

However, there was something more that was needed.  Upon death, your assets are frozen and your plans to support your family become another huge package of red tape.  The Living Will was developed to be a more powerful instrument   it could continue the family business, make dividing the family furniture less unpleasant, keep Sally in school, as well as assist in making final funeral arrangements.  The Living Will also became the mechanism to make family decisions regarding heroic life-saving measures, to allow the family time and space to decide when Aunt Mae's comatose body can be unplugged or how many more cardiac resuscitations we will inflict on Uncle Fred.

Soon, it became evident that the Living Will was working overtime trying to serve two masters.  People who cared about heroic life support were not really interested in the fiscal aspects of perimortal business dealings and those who were cared often felt ethically unequipped or empowered to make life support decisions. Time for another form.

Advance Directives take life support decision making away from the legal system and hand it back to the spouse, the family, a good friend.  The use of the form is good preparedness, we are told.  Make these important decisions in the cool of the day, not the heat of the moment, without the pressure from non- or less-involved family members.  And if you never need it, cool, you just tear it up.

But does it really work that way?