Living Will, Healthcare Surrogate & Mental Health Advance Directive: Fill & Download for Free

They don't! You can't move into somebody else's house without permission. I had to deal with this a while back. Not mine but a guy I've known for years. He ended up having a heart attack and I found out he had named me as his Designated Healthcare surrogate. Thanks to me making great decisions he made it through the heart attack but ended up with extreme cognitive impairment. It's not changing.He is in a facility but it is very expensive. He had a house that we needed to sell to provide the funds to keep him in that facility. He has a comfortable pension income. It falls short a couple of grand each month. His guardian and I decided selling the house was important. When we went to see what shape it's in there were people living there. We had the paperwork, we went to the sheriff and they came out and arrested the squatters.They could arrest them, not for “just" being squatters though. They had them over a huge legal barrel because they had stolen his identity. They had to because they wanted the cable turned on, and the water, and the power too. For these to be turned on you have to be the owner as listed on the county website, or have a lease from said owner.They made a lease and forged his name as owner. That was easy to get out of though because they insisted another guy signed it and told them it was his. The name matched the website, so they weren't squatters. That was their contention. But they were greedy.They sublet several rooms and the boathouse apartment. They wrote a lease for the guys renting the boathouse. The husband signed the owner's name and introduced himself as the owner.The signature on that lease exactly matched the signature on the house lease, purportedly signed by a stranger who rented them the house.They went to jail, everyone else simply ran away. I mean moved out that night. I had the locks changed the next day.If he hadn't written that sublease, I would have had to evict, but that's only a thirty day pain in the rear. Finding the criminal activity was a boon. But either way they had to go.

In the U.S,, at least, you can find numerous online examples, forms and instructions for free, on how to prepare your own Advance Medical Directive and Designation of a Healthcare Surrogate, a.k.a , “Living Will.”

I was a burn patient. My scars have reinforced for me not to judge others by appearance.I am an orthopaedic surgeon. I’ve had broken bones. Some required surgery; some only needed cast treatment. My experience reinforced my previously held belief that opioids (narcotics) were needed only minimally or not all and that pain fades quickly with compliance of a plan like ice, elevation, rest, over the counter medication, early mobilization, etc. I never took any opioids, even with surgery.My wife had a pelvic tumor which escaped two medical professionals’ evaluations; one Gynecologist and one Internal Medicine Nurse Practioner. It reinforced for me that one must be an advocate for one’s own healthcare.My father-in-law is losing his battle with non-alcohol cirrhosis. Most of his home health nurses have been true angels. Only one was a buffoon. It reinforced for me that one cannot accept mediocrity when it relates to your end-of-life care.I have served as a team physician for two professional sports teams, one junior college and three high schools. That 30+ year experience has reinforced for me that team care is year-round and encompasses much more than episodic injury care. It includes education on hygiene, nutrition, carbohydrate loading, hydration, conditioning, cross training, injury prevention, etc. Additionally, parents require the same education to be consistent with expectations of the athletes, if the athlete is still in school.I have served, unwillingly, as the family go-to question answerer for all things medical, even if it’s out of my field. I always defer to the proper medical professional (diabetes care, pulmonologist, gastroenterologist, etc.). I only reinforce what the appropriate provider has recommended and can teach the relative why compliance is crucial 24/7. I never act as the treating physician outside of my field, but it makes relatives feel more secure hearing the plan re-echoed by me. I don’t treat in-laws; but I empathize a lot.I served as a military physician in some third-world areas. It reinforced for me how darn lucky we are in the U.S. to have clean water virtually everywhere, not have to teach our kids where the mine fields are, not have to take anti-malaria and parasite medicine on a regular basis.I serve as treating physician for other health care professionals who request me to be their doctor. It’s an honor when another doctor wants you to be their doctor. It reinforces for me that the brightest, most educated people revert to about 8th grade level of mental function when they are facing their own personal medical issue.In addition to being a doctor, I also do medical research. It has reinforced for me that everything in healthcare needs to be evidence based.I was the healthcare surrogate and older brother for a brain-injured sister who succumbed to stage 4 cancer. It reinforced for me that a living will and careful thought about end-of-life choices need to be considered before the decisions are forced by circumstance.I’ve helped patients with terminal illness decisions. It reinforced for me that personal dignity takes many forms and means different things to different people at different stages of life and illness.Doctors are people, too. At some point in our lives we all are patients, just as our family members will be. I strive to treat my patients just like I would as if they were family. That perspective has always served well.