Elder Law Attorneys Helping You Plan For The Future

Many Americans not creating long term health care plans

On Behalf of | Aug 1, 2012 | Uncategorized

Surveys have overwhelmingly found that Americans would prefer to remain at home until the end of their lives, yet only 25 percent of patients aged 65 or older die at home. Experts say that this is largely because of a lack of end of life planning. Many Texas residents don’t realize that end of life planning doesn’t just mean writing a will to distribute assets.

Healthcare planning is just as important and can have a significant influence on the remaining years of one’s life. However, only 42 percent of survey respondents took the first step to a comprehensive healthcare plan by assigning a proxy to make decisions in the event that they are incapacitated.

While the trends have been towards increasing awareness of end of life planning, many Americans hesitate to discuss this sensitive topic with friends and family. This is one reason why working with an experience estate and healthcare planning attorney can be helpful. A meeting with an attorney can facilitate conversations that are difficult to have and can help bring up topics and questions that many Texas families might not think to consider.

Certain state and federal laws influence the way that healthcare is provided to people at the end of their lives, and it’s important to know what those laws are and whether or not you like the results. If not, healthcare directives are the best way to make sure that you are given the type of care that you want.

More information about Texas life care planning is available on our law firm’s website.

Source: Buffalo News, “Getting a final health care plan down on paper,” Henry L. Davis, July 24, 2012