Advanced Medical Directives

What is an Advance Medical Directive?

If you find yourself in a coma or are seriously injured in a car accident, you will not be able to tell the doctors what to do. How will your family know the care that you want? Your family and loved ones will be by your side, but only your medical directive will detail your wishes in that moment of need.

In a time like this, your family will be going through a tremendous experience. Our job is to make it easier. An Advance Medical Directive is also known as a Living Will. In an Advance Medical Directive, you give specific instructions ahead of time for your health care should you become unable to make these decisions on your own due to a serious illness, tragic accident or other situation in which you have become incapacitated. Your doctors and other medical providers are duty-bound to follow these decisions. Additionally, you appoint a specific person to carry out these decisions on your behalf.

Advance Medical Directives Ease Your Family’s Burden

The major benefit of having a legal Advance Medical Directive is that all of your wishes are clearly spelled out. This will prevent your family from making heart wrenching decision about what you would have wanted regarding your medical care. It is designed to prevent friends and family members from fighting with each other and from agonizing over these difficult decisions. It is designed to help avoid the Terri Schiavo situation and if you do not remember this story, ask Anthony. Together, a will and an Advance Medical Directive can help reduce confusion, disagreement and misunderstanding.

Additionally, you can set your treatment options in almost any manner you choose. This can be helpful in making sure that your personal or religious beliefs are respected.

It will also help to ease the burden for your family and loved ones. Lessen the stress and responsibility that they may feel in trying to determine what you would have wanted.

Finally, you will be able to change this document unless you are unable to understand those changes. This is important to know, just in case your goals and wishes do change in the future.

Why Hire Us To Create Your Maryland Advance Medical Directive?

You definitely want to have an experienced attorney create your advance medical directive. However, experience is not enough. Most attorneys will simply give you a form that you can check off your options. This fill-in-the-blank-form does not capture all of your possible options. This document needs to be thorough and contain as much information about your treatment decisions and wishes as possible. We never use a fill-in-the-blank approach here.

Here, we have a simple process. We will advise you about your options in plain language and discuss your wishes. Then, you tell us what you prefer. Then we prepare it in accordance with those preferences. Finally, we walk you through signing it and putting it in place.