Alzheimer’s and Personal Health Care Legal Issues

One of the most frustrating aspects to any disease that causes injury to the brain and mental incapacity is the fact that the disease is so unpredictable in the intensity and course. The best way to handle Alzheimer’s disease for your legal and financial matters is to have your affairs in order to begin with, or as soon as a diagnosis is made. Learn about some of the things that you will need to have, and your loved one will need, so you can plan the course of action when dealing with this baffling disease, and your personal health care. My family learned this the hard way, and it was not a pleasant experience to deal with in the latter stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

None of us like to think about the physical end of our life, but it must be dealt with before the end comes. Some of the most difficult ones begin with deciding what types of health care for serious and irreversible diseases that you will want. Consideration for health care is a highly intensive and personal decision. If you are having difficulty on deciding what you want, talk with your family and or spiritual leader. Don’t be afraid to ask the hard questions of yourself, and the other people that love and care for you. However, in the end it’s your decision to make.

Health care involves decisions of a wide variety issues. Ask yourself, what kind of life supports do you want? Do you find it desirable to be put on life supports at all? This involves issues such as breathing and nutritional substances for living. If you would like this to be done, you’ll need to have a Living Will, or in some states it’s known as an Advance Medical Directive. In-depth and detailed questions are difficult part of making a decision too.

Consider other questions on health care such as what care do you want that does not involve directly life supports, but treatments that indirectly are associated with your primary disease. For example, stage 1 diabetics might not be willing to take a certain medication for heart disease, but in the end the lack of treatment might lead to life supports. You have that option of having a Health Care Power of Attorney drawn up, which will dictate your exact wishes in cases of treating a condition, and life supports for the treatment in case something goes wrong. In most states, your POA will override your
Living Will documents, so you’ll need to carefully weigh your options.

Before you have any legal statements of health care issues drawn up, it’s good to have a general idea fleshed out in your mind, and write them down too, just in case you forget. Make an appointment, and talk to a good attorney about drawing up the legal documents necessary to enforce your wishes. A qualified attorney will be able to clarify about any questions or directives that you have, and point out others that you’ve might not have considered having a legal implication for yourself and the others. Remember, there are others that will need to be consulted to help carry out your wishes for your health care to the medical community, and doctors that take care of you.

Check out the list below for a guide to health care decisions.

� Decide on what medical health care you want and to what extent.

� Write your health care wishes down, and discuss them with family members.

� After choosing who you want to direct and help enforce your wishes on your health care, make an appointment with a qualified attorney in health care directives.

âÂ?¢ Discuss with your attorney any issues or recommendations, and weigh them carefully. It’s advisable to think on them, and return as soon as possible with your decisions about your care.

� Finally, draw up the legal documents for your health care directives.

The best source on the Internet is the website http://www.seniorlaw.com. Not only can you find information on legal health care issues, but a vast amount of information on legal resources, Medicaid and Medicare, Social Security issues, nursing home law, and federal government resources. Make sure to read their information at their site.

When drawing up your legal documents, remember that in all states of the U. S. the laws and regulations on what you can do, and the effects that it will have on others managing your wishes, are all different. Being prepared early with your medical directives for known health issues is the best way to approach life for yourself, and the others that love you.