Power of Attorney/Living Wills?

MyLuvBugs wrote: I'm just curious. When we took our tour of the hospital last week they gave us a TON of paper work, and there is a brochure on Living Wills and a paper for Power of Attorney in there. We never had this option when I was PG with Lorelei, and I don't know much about either. So, I'm just curious if any of you have them or maybe know a little about more than I.

PrairieMom replied: I have both. Actually, DH and I have a Will stating what I want to happen to my children and assetts and all that, I have a living will stating my wishes about my healthcare if I can't, which is a guide line for my POA, which I also have on record. (DH, then my Mother, then my sister)

They are SUPER inportant to have.

In my line of work I see families struggeling to make end of life decisions all the time, and it is heartbreaking for everyone. I will NOT do that to my loved ones. I have all my wishes there in black and white. It takes a lot of pressure off of your loved ones in a horrible situation.

PrairieMom replied: Here is a website where you can make a living will

http://www.legacywriter.com/livingwill.asp...g12livingwillsa

MyLuvBugs replied: Do I need to have an attorney/lawyer draw up a will or anything? Does it all need to be filed with the Government or something? I'm so confused.

Thanks for the website. I'll go and take a look.

siblingtoolivia replied: PrairieMom is right on - these three documents are super important. Even if you don't think you have alot of money/assets for a Will, it doesn't matter, you have children and need to appoint a guardian for them in the event both you and your DH were no longer around. As for the LW and POA, also super important so you know who is making decisions for you in the event you can't. You would probably want an attorney to do the Will for you and if you have them do the Will have them do the LW and POA, both need or should have certain language in regards to the HIPPA Privacy Laws to ensure who you appoint can in fact do what you want them to do. But you can do the LW and POA yourself.

I am not sure of the laws where you live but in NY you don't have to "file" a Will anywhere unless you want to in the Surrogate's Court.

Cece00 replied: We dont have either. We probably should take care of this.

PrairieMom replied: I made my first living will when I was in the hospital just before I had The Boy. I just filled out some paperwork and had to have a witness sign it. It is kept in medical records. I made a second one when I had my Will drawn up.

Making a living will takes time. You have to find the paper work, fill it out and all that, but what doesn't take time is to TALK TO YOUR FAMILIES about your wishes. You can do it tonight durring dinner, and fill out paperwork tomorrow! Your POA can over ride your aished anyway, so please please make sure to communicate your wishes to everyone.

ashtonsmama replied: We have both now--MIL strongly encouraged us to get them when we got married, and she was really helpful w/ the paperwork and such, it was some work, but worth it. ITA with Tara's comment on leaving people, etc. I wouldn't want that.

boyohboyohboy replied: we had a joint living trust drawn up, its cheaper then each individual having a will drawn up, it dictates who our children go to, and how the assets are to divided.
I also have a durable and medical poa, there is a great difference.....
depending on your state, in pa, you can draw up a living will and just have it notorized and its legal without a lawyer...
we used an on line service and had it checked by a lawyer
its called
www.legalzoom.com

its expensive, but the rates on this web site were about the same as a lawyer. also it asks you questions to determine exactly what type of legal papers you need drawn up for you specific situation.

Its really a good idea especially after you have kids.....

MyLuvBugs replied:
That was fast and easy and a little depressing. Thanks Tara! lol

Now I can say I have a LW and a POA for only $20. Pretty cool! Still very depressing answering those questions, but glad to have it done with and to have not spent hundreds of dollars.

We still haven't decided who should raise our kids if something were to happen to us. Everyone that we can think of has a long list of cons and very little pros that go with them. KWIM? So, a Will is going to be awhile coming, but at least I have these two down.

ilovemybaby replied: I have a will but it needs to be updated. I am not sure if that's "power of attorney"? I don't have a living will. I need to do that.

PrairieMom replied:
Yeah you! It totally sucks to think about, but these are the kind of decisions you need to make when you are in a good frame of mind, not when you are scared and stressed you know?

MyLuvBugs replied:
No kidding! A couple of them made me tear up at the mere thought. And there were two that I didn't really care what decision is made so I just chose not to pick yes or no for right now.

A&A'smommy replied: I don't have either one but I plan on doing both hopefully soon

Brias3 replied: We have both done as well and have updated our wills around the time each of the kids were born. Actually, I recently had our new will drawn up just a few months back that I hadn't updated since Mason's birth