Advanced Directives

End-of-life conversations can be hard, but your loved ones will thank you.

"Death – along with taxes – is one of life’s few certainties. Despite this inevitability, most people dread thinking and talking about when, how or under what conditions they might die.

They don’t want to broach the topic with family, either, for fear of upsetting them. Ironically, though, talking about death “early and often” can be the greatest gift to bestow on loved ones."

Check out this important January 1022 article from The Conversation about the importance of planning and discussing end-of-life choices and wishes.

Keystone Law Firm

What Is Estate Planning?

It is preparing for what happens to your assets before and after you pass away. It involves deciding who manages your properties while you are alive and to whom you pass them on after your death.

The goal of an estate plan is to ensure that your wishes are carried out, and your loved ones are well taken care of after you’re gone. It can also include making arrangements for healthcare and end-of-life decisions.

There are various estate planning tools that you can use to protect your loved ones and prepare for various situations in the future.

How to Start a Conversation About End-of-Life Care

"Planning for your final days is hard, but it's an invaluable gift to caregivers and loved ones"

This 2021 Article from AARP addresses this difficult topic. It also references the "Your Conversation Starter Guide" a product of the Conversation Project, an initiative of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. This guide is available on this site under Healthcare Planning.

"How we want to die is the most important and costly conversation Americans aren't having. Consider these facts:

• Ninety percent of people think it is important to talk about end-of-life wishes with their loved ones, but only 27 percent have done so, according to a 2021 study published in the Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services.
  
• One in 5 respondents to a 2018 survey by the Conversation Project, which works to promote greater discussion of end-of-life-care, said they've avoided the subject out of worry about upsetting their loved ones.
  
• A sizable majority of people say they want to die at home, but 60 percent die in hospitals or institutions."

Southern Arizona Legal Aid, Inc.

Do You Need Help with Legal Services?

"If you have a civil legal problem, we may be able to help. In general, we serve clients who are low income. If you are not sure, please apply and we can check. We do place a high priority on serving victims of crime."

Vision

"Our Vision is that all Arizona residents, particularly those within the 33,000 square miles where Southern Arizona Legal Aid, Inc. (SALA) provides legal services, have access to legal, social and economic justice. Further, it is our Vision that all individuals and families in our service area understand the vital role SALA plays in assisting low-income individuals and families."

Mission

"Our Mission is to provide quality legal services to people who would not otherwise have equal access to justice, in ways which affirm their individual and collective dignity, integrity, and power."

Non-profit Law Firm

"SALA is a non-profit 501(c)(3) public interest law firm, established in 1951, which provides free, civil legal aid to low-income individuals and families in 9 of Arizona’s 15 counties and in 11 of Arizona’s 21 Native American Communities. Since 1951, SALA has been a trusted resource and an effective voice for low-income people in southern and southeastern Arizona."

"We provide civil legal aid. We do not provide help with criminal legal issues. Examples of civil legal issues include: eviction, foreclosure, public benefits denial, guardianship of children in your care, Orders of Protection (restraining order) for victims of domestic violence, divorce and child support issues. Our ability to help depends on the availability of funding and other resources. We are committed to helping as many people as we can, so we encourage you to apply. If we cannot help you directly for any reason, we will suggest other resources in your area."

Check this website for more information.

Advanced Directives: Free online from AARP

"Find Advance Directives Forms by State"

En español | "When planning for your future medical care, prepare your advance directives to be sure your loved ones make health choices according to your wishes. Select your state below to find free advance directive forms for where you live. You’ll find instructions on how to fill out the forms at each link."

The Conversation Project

The Conversation Project

"The Conversation Project is dedicated to helping people talk about their wishes for care through the end of life.

The Conversation Project® is a public engagement initiative with a goal that is both simple and transformative: to help everyone talk about their wishes for care through the end of life, so those wishes can be understood and respected.

Together we can make these difficult conversations easier. We can make sure that our own wishes, and those of the people who matter most to us (our loved ones, friends, chosen family), are both understood and respected. The Conversation Project offers free tools, guidance, and resources to begin talking with those who matter most about your and their wishes."

The link below explores a variety of resources to help make, discuss and document future healthcare wishes and decisions in your advance care planning. Check out this site that not only adds a great deal of information about advanced care planning but provides a tool to help start the conversations required for advanced care planning.

AVID Esq. Group

"At AVID Estates, we are dedicated to assisting families in the Phoenix, Gilbert, Chandler, Mesa, and Queen Creek regions with their estate planning requirements. Our legal team has firsthand knowledge of the significance of estate planning and the consequences of neglecting it. We utilize this knowledge to provide our clients with Practical Estate Plans that are tailored to their specific needs and designed to operate effectively in the real world, rather than just in legal theory. Let us assist you in safeguarding your assets and planning for your family’s future."

Their services include all-inclusive packages that encompass all the necessary documents for your family’s estate plan to meet your goals and desires.

Wills are an excellent tool for designating guardians for your children and specifying your final requests. For families opting for a Revocable Living Trust to prevent Probate, we also offer Pour-Over Wills.

Living Trusts are ideal for those who desire to avoid the probate court process after their passing, Revocable Living Trusts provide exceptional privacy protection, safeguard your family in case of incapacity, and ensure swift and effortless property transfer during emergencies.

Additionally, we provide Irrevocable Trusts for clients seeking asset protection planning.

We also provide you with all the necessary supplementary documents that your family may need. These include a Medical Power of Attorney, a Durable or Springing Power of Attorney, a Living Will, and a Property Memorandum.

Planning for Your Children

We take the utmost care when it comes to your children and leave no room for shortcuts!

Our estate plans comprise the necessary legal documentation to designate both long-term and short-term guardians for your children, as well as healthcare power of attorney.

Planning for Your Pets

For many of us, our pets are akin to our children. They offer unconditional love and rely on us for their wellbeing.

However, what happens to them when we can no longer provide care? Sadly, many pets end up in shelters or are put down following the owners passing or incapacitation.

We offer solutions to address this issue and help you plan for your pet’s future. We can assist you in creating a pet trust that ensures your beloved pet is provided for even after you are gone.

See their website to review all of their services and estate planning solutions.

Glover Court Systems and Estate Planning

Arizona's Low-Cost Legal Services Provider

"Our team of legal professionals is committed to excellence. We specialize in fulfilling the needs of the community at an affordable cost. Our offices are conveniently located in the cities of Maricopa and Casa Grande; however, we do provide services throughout the state of Arizona."

Please note: a legal document preparer is not a lawyer, is not employed by a lawyer, and cannot give legal advice. Communications with a legal document preparer are confidential, but they are not privileged.​

©2017 by Glover Court Solutions & Estate Planning.

Your Conversation Starter Guide

"How to talk about what matters to you and have a say in your health care."

"We can’t plan for everything. But we can talk about what is most important — in our life, and in our health care — with those who matter most. We’ll help you take it step by step. Talking with the important people in our life can bring us closer together. It also helps us create the foundation of a care plan that’s right for us — a plan that will be available when the need arises"

"The Conversation Project wants to help everyone talk about their wishes for care through the end of life, so those wishes can be understood and respected. We created this guide to help you start a conversation (and keep talking) so you can have a say in your health care — today and tomorrow."

The Conversation Project is an initiative of The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). This link will take you to their guide. It is intended to help you have THAT CONVERSATION in a way that makes it easier for your thoughts and concerns to be understood by your family and medical team. This is a pretty unique tool.

Advance Directives for Health Care

During an emergency or at the end of life, you may face questions about their medical treatment and not be able answer them. You may assume your loved ones know what you would want, but that’s not always true. In one study, people guessed nearly one out of three end-of-life decisions for their loved one incorrectly.

Research shows that you are more likely to get the care you want if you have conversations about your future medical treatment and put a plan in place. It may also help your loved ones grieve more easily and feel less burden, guilt, and depression.

This article from the NIH National Institute on Aging will help sort out which of these important documents are needed and what they should include.

FREE: Life Care Planning packets from the AZ Attorney General's Office

"Life Care Planning" is an important task for all of us, whether young or old, healthy or facing challenges. Through increased awareness and access to information, Arizonans of all ages can make their choices known about who will manage their medical affairs in the event of an emergency.

The Attorney General offers the forms, at no cost to you, as follows:

• Click on the buttons below to download a complete packet or individual forms.
• Visit the Phoenix and Tucson office for copies.
• Complete a Life Care Planning request form or call (602) 542-2123 or (800) 352-8431 to have them mailed to you.

The packet includes:

• Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry - Registration Agreement
• Life Care Planning Information
• Life Care Planning Checklist
• Health Care Power of Attorney
• Mental Health Care Power of Attorney
• Living Will (End of Life Care)
• Pre-Hospital Medical Directive (Do Not Resuscitate)

All of these forms can be downloaded, picked up in the Phoenix or Tucson offices or mailed to you.

They are available in both English and Spanish.

Check the website for more information or to download the packet.

Click on the "Complete LCP Packet"

Free Advance Directives

"Advance Directive Forms (50-States)"

"An advance directive is a document that allows a person (“principal“) to select someone else (“agent“) to make medical decisions on their behalf. The directive also allows a person to make a declaration detailing the health care preferences if they can’t speak for themselves (e.g., reject artificial feeding and breathing machines). An advance directive must be signed in accordance with State law for it to be legal for use."

Check this link for advanced directives. Helpful explanations of forms and processes precede the links to the free forms. I would read this material first, particularly if you are new to the concept of advanced directives.

What to do When a Loved One Dies

AARP provides a checklist of the tasks that must be considered and completed when a loved one dies.

What I learned from my Mom's Approach to Death

"My mother had been thinking about her own end of life for as long as I can remember. She’d nursed two parents through long, agonizing final chapters, one with cancer and the other with Parkinson’s. Being such a dutiful caregiver forged a determination in her not to end up like her parents. She was almost militant about “not being a burden” to her three girls at the end."

This 2023 article from AARP provides some insight on grief and coping with the end of life.

Navigating mortality? We'll be your guide - Cake.com

We are the largest end-of-life platform on the internet.

"Join millions of people turning to Cake each month for guidance on death, grief, and mortality. We provide thousands of articles and tools designed to help you learn about and prepare for end-of-life."

Note the following provided by Cake:

"Cake offers its users do-it-yourself online forms to complete their own wills and generalized educational content about wills. We are not attorneys and are not providing you with legal advice. Many users would be better served consulting an attorney than using a do-it-yourself online form. The fees for the advice of an attorney should not be compared to the fees of do-it-yourself online forms. We cannot give you customized advice on your situation or needs, which would require the service of an actual attorney. Any information you provide to Cake, and all communications between you and Cake, are not protected by an attorney-client privilege and are instead governed by our Privacy Policy. Usage of any form or other service on our website is subject to our Terms of Use."

For more information check the website.