Common Misconception
The common misconception that surrounds a Living Will (or, in Pennsylvania, an "Advance Directive for Health Care") is the timing as to when it becomes operative. There are two triggers that must occur before your Surrogate is given the option of acting. First, you must be unable to communicate your own decisions. Second, you must have been diagnosed with a terminal condition or as being permanently unconscious.
Common Misconception
Another misconception is that your doctor must follow the dictates of your Living Will. To the contrary, and should your Doctor not be able to follow your directions in your Living Will, your doctor (as well as any health care provider) must inform your Surrogate if they cannot, for whatever reason, follow your wishes as stated in your Living Will. Thus, it is important to provide a copy of your Living Will to your doctor (or any health care provider) when you enter a hospital or other medical facility. If you are incompetent when you are admitted for medical care and have named someone in your living will to make decisions for you, that person must be informed if the wishes contained in your Living Will cannot be honored. Your doctor (as well as any health care provider) who cannot honor your wishes in your Living Will must then help transfer you to another doctor (or health care provider) who is willing to carry out your directions.
John B. Whalen, Jr., J.D., LL.M. is an
AV Peer Review Attorney and Counselor at Law and a member of the
Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. He has had his legal articles published on the Martindale.Com website and his law blogs published on the Lawyers.Com website.
John concentrates his legal practice solely in the areas of
Estate Law,
Estate Planning,
Estate Administration,
Executor Representation,
Probate, Ancillary Probate,
Last Wills, Decedents Estates,
Powers of Attorney, Advance Directives, Trust Law,
Living Wills,
Fiduciary Law,
Inheritance,
Inheritance Tax, Trusts and Estates, Trust Administration, Cemetery Law, Tax Law, Estates Taxation, and
Estate Planning for Unmarried Couples.
John serves, and has served, individuals and attorneys in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Metropolitan Area (and throughout the country), including Chester County Pa, Delaware County Pa, Lancaster County Pa, Montgomery County Pa, and Philadelphia County Pa.
John has served clients in Ambler Pa, in Ardmore Pa, in Aston Pa, in Berwyn Pa, in Blue Bell Pa, in Bridgeport Pa, in Broomall Pa, in Bryn Mawr Pa, in Chadds Ford Pa, in Chesterbrook Pa, in Chester Heights Pa, in Chester Springs Pa, in Coatesville Pa, in Collegeville Pa, in Conshohocken Pa, in Devon Pa, in Downingtown Pa, in Drexel Hill Pa, in Eagleville Pa, in Easttown Pa, in Elkins Park Pa, in Exton Pa, in Frazer Pa, in Great Valley Pa, in Haverford Pa, in Havertown Pa, in Jeffersonville Pa, in Kennett Square Pa, in King of Prussia Pa, in Lansdale Pa, in Limerick Pa, in Linfield Pa, in Linwood Pa, in Lower Merion Pa, in Malvern Pa, in Media Pa, in Narberth Pa, in Newtown Square Pa, in Norristown Pa, in Oaks Pa, in Overbrook Pa, in Paoli Pa, in Parkesburg Pa, in Phoenixville Pa, in Plymouth Meeting Pa, in Pottstown Pa, in Radnor Pa, in Ridley Park Pa, in Rosemont Pa, in St. Davids Pa, in Springfield Pa, in Strafford Pa, in Swarthmore Pa, in Thorndale Pa, in Tredyffrin Pa, in Trooper Pa, in Upper Merion Pa, in Valley Forge Pa, in Villanova Pa, in Wayne Pa, in West Chester Pa, in Westtown Pa, in Whitemarsh Pa, in Willistown Pa, in Wynnewood Pa, and in Yeadon Pa.