As someone who has dealt with aspects of estate planning, you understand that it contains many moving and complex parts. Though each piece may seem small and unimportant on its own, they come together to offer you a smooth path to where you want to go.
An advance directive is one of those small pieces. Though it might seem superfluous or unnecessary at first, you could actually benefit from it hugely in the future.
Reasons for having an advance directive
The National Institute on Aging discusses the importance of an advance directive. First, what is an advance directive, anyway? In short, it allows for you to leave behind directions for what you want to be done medically speaking in the event that you cannot communicate with anyone.
For example, say you struggle with a degenerative disorder like dementia. If you have an advance directive, you can determine what you want to be done in certain medical situations. You can specify when you want to be on life support and for how long, or if you have any situations where you would prefer no life support used and no resuscitation.
Who is it useful for?
This is useful even for people without neurological or degenerative disorders, though, anyone could get into an accident that leaves them comatose. Anyone could suffer from traumatic brain damage that may have a doctor declaring them braindead or in a vegetative state. If you end up in these situations, you likely still have a strong idea of what healthcare you want to receive. An advance directive is the best way to ensure you get that care, while simultaneously removing the burden of decision-making from your loved ones.
