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Text of President's Remarks on Living Wills and Healthcare Reform
Congressman Earl Blumenauer (pictured) is bringing attention to Living Wills in connection with the pending healthcare bill. In fact, speaking to the AARP, President Obama discussed his own Living Will. Here is what he said, according to the Boston Globe (in the town hall Q & A format):
Q I have heard lots of rumors going around about this new plan, and I hope that the people that are going to vote on this is going to read every single page there. I have been told there is a clause in there that everyone that's Medicare age will be visited and told to decide how they wish to die. This bothers me greatly and I'd like for you to promise me that this is not in this bill.
THE PRESIDENT: You know, I guarantee you, first of all, we just don't have enough government workers to send to talk to everybody, to find out how they want to die.
I think that the only thing that may have been proposed in some of the bills -- and I actually think this is a good thing -- is that it makes it easier for people to fill out a living will. Now, Mary, you may be familiar with the principle behind a living will, but it basically is something that my grandmother -- who, you may have heard, recently passed away -- it gave her some control ahead of time, so that she could say, for example, if she had a terminal illness, did she want extraordinary measures even if, for example, her brain waves were no longer functioning; or did she want just to be left alone. That gives her some decision-making power over the process.
The problem is right now most of us don't give direction to our family members and so when we get really badly sick, sadly enough, nobody is there to make the decisions. And then the doctor, who doesn't know what you might have preferred, they're making decisions, in consultation with your kids or your grand kids, and nobody knows what you would have preferred.
So I think the idea there is to simply make sure that a living will process is easier for people -- it doesn't require you to hire a lawyer or to take up a lot of time. But everything is going to be up to you. And if you don't want to fill out a living will, you don't have to. But it's actually a useful tool I think for a lot of families to make sure that if, heaven forbid, you contract a terminal illness, that you are somebody who is able to control this process in a dignified way that is true to your faith and true to how you think that end-of-life process should proceed.
You don't want somebody else making those decisions for you. So I actually think it's a good idea to have a living will. I'd encourage everybody to get one. I have one. Michelle has one. And we hope we don't have to use it for a long time, but I think it's something that is sensible.
But, Mary, I just want to be clear: Nobody is going to be knocking on your door; nobody is going to be telling you you've got to fill one out. And certainly nobody is going to be forcing you to make a set of decisions on end-of-life care based on some bureaucratic law in Washington.
MR. CUTHBERT: Mr. President, she mentioned, not in her question, but in her preview, that she's talking about Section 1232, the infamous page 425, which is being read as mandatory end-of-life care advice and counseling for Medicare. As I read the bill, it's saying that Medicare will, for the first time, cover consultation about end-of-life care, and that they will not pay for such a consultation more than once every five years. This is being read as saying every five years you'll be told how you can die.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, that would be kind of morbid. (Laughter.) I think that the idea in that provision, which may be in the House bill -- keep in mind that we're still having a whole series of negotiations, and if this is something that really bothers people, I suspect that members of Congress might take a second look at it. But understand what the intent is. The intent here is to simply make sure that you've got more information, and that Medicare will pay for it.
So, for example, there are some people who -- they get a terminal illness, and they decide at a certain point they want to get hospice care. But they might not know how to go about talking to a hospice, what does it mean, how does it work. And they don't want to -- we don't want them to have to pay for that out of pocket. So if Medicare is saying you have the option of consulting with somebody about hospice care, and we will reimburse it, that's putting more power, more choice in the hands of the American people, and it strikes me that that's a sensible thing to do.
The end of life counseling elements of healthcare reform look to become more prominent in the ongoing debate. A Living Will (also known as an Advance Healthcare Directive or just Advance Directive) allows anyone to indicate their wishes concerning the withdrawal or withholding of life-sustaining procedures if they are in a terminal condition with no hope of recovery or are permanently unconscious.
New Law Alert: California Supreme Court Approves Same-Sex Marriage
In a 4-3 ruling, the California State Supreme Court has made California the second state (following Massachusets) to rule that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry.
What does this ruling change for gays and lesbians?
Married couples have several rights and protections that are not recognized for most domestic partner-type arrangements. For example, as reported in the San Francisco Chronicle, domestic partners can be denied certain benefits of marriage under federal law, such as filing joint federal tax returns, social security survivor's benefits and immigration sponsorship rights.
Prenuptial Agreement arrangements and Estate Planning are major considerations for any married couple and these issues will now be the substantially the same for homosexual couples as for heterosexual married people.
RocketLawyer.com recommends that all persons considering marriage think about a Prenuptial Agreement, which will help avoid economic problems in the event of a divorce. Once married, couples should ensure that they have at least three basic legal documents for themselves and their spouse: a Living Will, a Durable Power of Attorney and a Last Will and Testament.
If you are unsure about the legal documents you need, the RocketLawyer.com Free Legal Care Check-Up is always a good place to start.
For more information about the California Supreme Court same-sex marriage ruling, here is Attorney Gloria Allred.
Want to implement a simple estate plan that will protect your loved ones as much as possible? For many people, the idea of going to an attorney and spending thousands of dollars just doesn't work. However, with a little bit of effort, you can do it yourself and save.
The first question usually is: “do I need a Will, a Trust or both?” The answer usually is “both.” Here are the basic differences between a legal will and a trust. As you can see, trusts, which have often been misunderstood, are not just for the rich. For many ordinary conscientious people, a trust is the best way to protect your loved ones and assets.
Here's why:
The Living Trust or Joint Living Trust, combined with a Pour Over Will, are often viewed as preferable alternatives to the stand alone Will. Some of the perceived advantages of the Living Trust are as follows:
1. Privacy. A Living Trust is more private. Under state law, a will is admitted to probate after the Willmaker dies, so that the terms of the Will can be administered. (Under certain circumstances, families with very small estates may be able to use abbreviated probate procedures, or avoid probate entirely, in which case it is not necessary to admit the Will to probate.) "Probate" refers to the court procedures that: a. determine the validity of the Will b. deal with potential Will challenges, c. resolve the claims of creditors of the decedent, and d. ultimately distribute the decedent's assets to the beneficiaries. As a result, the Will becomes part of the court records that can be inspected by the public upon request. In contrast, a Living Trust is administered by the Successor Trustee usually without court involvement, and normally does not become a public record. Thus, the terms of the Living Trust, including the identities of the beneficiaries and the manner in which the Grantor's assets will be distributed, remain private.
2. Reduced probate costs. A Living Trust may avoid at least some of the perceived "evils" of the probate process. A Will is subject to a court administered process known as "probate." This process takes time (generally, six months to three years), and involves court costs, executor fees, and lawyer fees. The cost of probate can vary greatly, depending on state law; the cost may range from 2% of the amount of the decedent's gross assets to 10% or more in some states. However, the costs associated with administering the trust assets after a Grantor's death, including the obligation to prepare various tax returns, account for trust assets, pay the Grantor's debts, and make required distributions, may be similar in amount to the costs of probate. Therefore, it is difficult to predict whether the amount of savings that might result from the use of a Living Trust will be more than a minimal amount.
3. Management of property. A Living Trust offers a mechanism for allowing another person or organization to manage all or some of your assets if you become unable to do so, or if you simply prefer to "have someone else do it." Thus, a Living Trust may serve as an alternative to a conservatorship or guardianship.
4. Affordability. Traditionally, the costs may have been to high for most people to create an estate plan, including a Living Trust. Today, however, you can put together your own estate planning documents for as little as $34.95 using the Easy Estate Planning kit at RocketLawyer.com. Just start here and you’re on your way to a sensible and Easy Estate Plan.
This is the first posting for the Rocket Lawyer blog. What is Rocket Lawyer? Well, it's not rocket science! Many of the legal tasks that people need to get done can be accomplished via the Internet, at a fraction of the cost of offline legal assistance. For example, everyone should have a living will, and if you read on, you will see how to obtain one for free.
Rocket Lawyer is dedicated to helping people locate the information and tools they need to do common legal tasks themselves and save. Everyone should have a will, a durable power of attorney and a living will (advance healthcare directive). Most people don't have these essential documents completed because the process has been expensive and confusing. Hopefully, that will start to change now.
In this blog, we will post for free some of the thousands of pages of information from our Rocket Lawyer law library. This will help you to create your own will, power of attorney, living will, small business documents, legal letters and thousands of other forms and legal documents.
The information in this blog will point you in the right direction. While we do hope that you will consider trying RocketLawyer.com and becoming a patron, we want you to be able to find enough good information for free to help you with your legal matters whether or not you ultimately patronize our paid services.
So, thanks for reading the first posting of our Rocket Lawyer blog. Please visit http://www.rocketlawyer.com for more information about us.
Now, as promised, here is our first free article:
What is a Living Will?
A Living Will is a document where you can state your wishes regarding life-sustaining treatment in the event that you either have a terminal illness and are expected to die within a relatively short time or are permanently unconscious. In general, individuals use Living Wills to indicate whether they want certain medical treatment withheld or withdrawn in order to allow a more natural death if the treatment is merely prolonging the dying process or there is no hope of recovery.
A Living Will is only effective when you are no longer able to make and communicate your own wishes. For example, if you suffer a stroke or are in a motor vehicle accident and suffer a severe brain injury so that you are in a coma, you may not be able to communicate your wishes. A Living Will in these circumstances helps you communicate your desires about certain medical procedures.
A famous example of a situation where a living will would have helped is the Terri Schiavo case:
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