As a nurse, Kim Von Asten of Dousman, Wis., knows it’s important to document how you want to be cared for at the end of your life, or when you can no longer speak for yourself because of a major ...

States generally allow a person (principal) to appoint another person (agent) to make health care decisions, receive protected health information, or both on the principal’s behalf. In many states, ...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people unexpectedly needed critical care such as ventilators but were unable to communicate their end-of-life wishes to their loved ones. Researchers like me, who ...

Two main types of advance directives are living wills and healthcare power of attorney. These are legal documents that outline a person’s preferences regarding major medical decisions. An advance ...

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Dear Doctor: I recently read about advance directives that deal only with dementia. Is there some benefit to those over the more traditional directives? If so, how do I go about creating one? Dear ...

Christy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and ...

Treading into ethically and legally uncertain territory, a New York end-of-life agency has approved a new document that lets people stipulate in advance that they don’t want food or water if they ...