Do You Have a Health Care Directive?

If the subject and not many of us like to think about polar final days played out in what happens to our earthly possessions will be gone home to the Lord estate planning answers. Some of those questions but not all wills and trusts are important components of the state branding but the only go so far only to your assets, not you. Today financial planner and teacher Rob West explains why you also need a healthcare directive not today's program is prerecorded, so please hold your calls for another time another day more.

We happen to have you along for today's edition moneywise Rob health directive seems like a fairly new term but if everybody needs one why we just hearing about this now.

Yeah, well, the term may be relatively new, but the concept is certainly not a healthcare directive. Steve is also called a living will, you might hear it as a medical directive or even a durable healthcare power of attorney, although sometimes the medical power of attorney is a separate document. Okay, now you said, living will have heard of living trust of those aren't the same things are the that's correct very different. Okay I but what why do we need one and will get back to the trust and healthcare directive. Steve is a legal document that spells out the individual's wishes for care during illness as you said at the top of the program and especially during the unfortunate event of dementia. It also specifies end-of-life decisions. The purpose is really to give guidance if the individual can no longer communicate with caregivers and family. Ultimately, it can provide instructions on how the body should be handled after death. So it's a very important document that can frankly be a real blessing to your family because it takes all of the guesswork out of end-of-life decisions and that would be a blessing too often family members disagree and whether various treatments should be continued or not healthcare directive spells out your exact wishes so you can avoid any confusion during this already difficult time was exactly right so it's a little surprising then that only about one out of three of us have drawn up a healthcare directive. It's not an expensive process. Most states attorney general's websites offer a legal form you can use the processing. One of those forms cost $50 or less, you can have an attorney draw one up for about 250 maybe $500 but even at that price. Of course it's well worth it. In my view, when you consider all the trouble. It will save your surviving family members. Okay, maybe we can talk through this process a bit and maybe if we do it will encourage more folks to do it.

So where do we start okay well the first thing you need to do is choose your agent. This person is often a family member that but doesn't necessarily have to be the agent will of course act on your behalf. Making decisions according to your wishes. If you can't act yourself. So, for example, your agent will speak for you in deciding whether treatment should be continued, or if you should simply be made comfortable with hospice care during your final days in most cases, the spouse is chosen as agent followed by other family members.

If the spouse is unable to fulfill that role, but sometimes a friend, is chosen as the agent and of course I can work as well right so let's say I've decided on my agent. What's next yet. Assuming that you've already drawn up the directive, specifying your wishes for end-of-life treatment and what should happen with your body afterward. Then you need to go over it in detail with your chosen agent. This is your chance to explain your decisions.

Should the agent need to step in and advocate on your behalf, and the agent's role continues after your death to make sure your postmortem wishes are carried out.

That would include things like funeral arrangements, organ donation and burial cremation.

All of those things can be specified in your living will or healthcare directive and then overseen by your agent. Following your death can that's good so is that pretty much it done. Not quite. Actually, the idea behind all of this is to eliminate confusion and family conflict in your final days, springing a living will and agents on unsuspecting family members would be counterproductive.

To that purpose. So I would just encourage folks to communicate ahead of time with your family members about the healthcare directive and why you've made certain decisions. If your final wishes are made clear. I think it will go a long way toward ensuring a smooth conflict free end-of-life process. Of course that would handle and well estate planning in general and end-of-life choices and decisions in particular are uncomfortable to think about and plan for it is something you have great piece about once every great information is always your listening to moneywise live. However, today's broadcast recorded that my going to take a brief break that more moneywise a wrong turn when it comes to money. We all do you steer clear financial potholes this month. Moneywise the magazine is all about helping you make moneywise decisions with explicit articles to scare you in the right direction where free magazines inscription is waiting for you. My wife got away #investing is more than just return. It's an expression of who you are and what you value is the way you invest your money reflect your identity as a Christian that eventide we design investments for performance and a better world so you can invest with the confidence to reach your financial goals while remaining truly your Christian values and commitments. We call this investing makes the world rejoice more is available@besteventide.com invest eventide.com hospitality Dustin Willis and Brandon Clement say it's the simplest way to change the world gospel centered hospitality makes a powerful witnessing statement as we open our lives and homes to the simplest way to change the world will show you how you can be hospitable even if you don't have the space for most people are more likely to step into a living room sanctuary.

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This is a program about God's wisdom for your money in your finances and we love to help today if we can. Let's begin by going to see Chicago Illinois Christina nice to have you there and what's on your mind you're well healthcare directive you can get your way in our attorney about that. Sure, you know, I think Christina it's always good to make sure any changes are done properly and it's a time where you can actually review and perhaps update. Not only that document but anything else that you might have. If you have a will you want to make some changes or updates any other legal documents as well. So I would probably have an attorney give it a once over.

Of course, that shouldn't be you know anything that would involve a lot of times it shouldn't be expensive, especially with someone you've already been working with previously. That should be a very fairly insignificant update but I just think when it set we were talking about dealing with legal documents and making sure things are in order and have been documented appropriately.

According to the state year-end and the changes that are being made. It's always good to get professional counsel and so I recommend we have a relationship. There was somebody preferably has a godly estate planning attorney and understands your values. Of course, very competent and then you can revisit with that person as things change, or at least every few years to make sure that everything is up-to-date and in force, but I would probably opt despite the fact there are a lot of online tools that can be helpful to you.

Just for me. I'd rather have a professional looking it over. Good question though and does underscore this idea that we need to be revisiting these documents periodically to make sure they are current and accurate in a Christine.

We appreciate you listening. Thanks for your call today. Thanks, Christina. In fact, this is our Facebook question of the day again were taking calls on anything but the Facebook question of the day is do you have a healthcare directive, a number of the people have responded. Connie says yes of faith, health directives, wills, and digitizing your pictures are gifts you can leave your family and that's not something I thought about but as I look through old pictures and as my family grows into adulthood.

You have the two great blessings that have so I guess that's it. That's a good recommendation absolutely yeah Charlotte says my husband and I will soon have such as we send in the paperwork setting up our trust and Mary Lynn says no don't have one probably should your right, you probably should that it's out of the program.

One out of three people are all that do have them and so that's that she's injured is not a knee. However, I would say let's try to change that because this is an important piece of our estate plan and it sure is okay Jacksonville, Florida Thomas, how can we help you today sir. Hey, good afternoon gentlemen, well I have a question kind of around giving in and what director cleantech official getting a quick background is Mama life through many blessings have have gotten about $22,000 saved up and comment upon ideas on how to spend it. Have also been kind of hearing about sacrificial giving and it seems like up to this point.

Most of the getting that has been done has been in a kind of not have had a really sacrificial, I guess so. I want to get your ideas on what sacrificial giving means and maybe should we look more into giving out getting this money away are doing different colleges not really sure what to do with it well. I love the site did you thinking about being generous. Clearly Thomas we see through the old and the New Testament that we are to be generous.

We were created in the image of a generous God really the ultimate giver. If you think about it, so work hardwired forgiving. I like to say how he gave us his son and so he modeled the ultimate generosity everything we have is ultimately his, which makes us a steward and so we have an opportunity to be found faithful in taking his resources and using them in first Timothy, we see for our enjoyment. That's clearly one of the purposes so we should enjoy what God has entrusted to us were to provide and so provision for our family should be part of that we should be content to meaning that we need to live within God's provision. Not outside of it despite the fact that the world allows us to do that through debt and we should be holding everything loosely, which allows us to be generous and that's actually really where true joy is found as we allow the Lord to use us to take part of what he's entrusted to us and put it back into circulation in his economy be a part of his work showing him where he's at work is where we all enjoy real blessing and we see that not only bear out in our own lives just the joy that comes from being generous but we even see science back that up. I was just reading a study a couple weeks ago about the lease. The physical impact on our bodies when were generous and were more grateful it's it's profound but that's just echoing God's design. So how do you approach that in your life. Well, I think the key is to recognize that first of all we want to give as we been prospered and that's what we see Jesus talking about that we were blessed with much and so out of that provision, we should be. I would say systematic in our giving meaning following the principle of the tithe firstfruits right off the top. We should give systematically and I think God's plan a is the local church, so we should start there and support the work of the local church, but then we have the opportunity to give beyond that systematic or perhaps proportionate giving.

That's where we begin to reorder our finances and find ways to do even more and often times that comes out of the sheer joy and blessing of being a part of God's work in experiencing that and we begin to make changes in our financial lives to say okay what if I dial back my spending.

What if I got out of debt. What could be possible if I were to reorder my finances so I can do even more.

And that's really where the sacrificial giving comes in.

Ron blue, the author talks about the different levels of giving as the should give meaning what we should give out of what God is prospered us. He talks about the could give meaning if I make some changes. What could I do even now and then what he calls the would get which says and if God blesses me over and above this, I'll do even more, and he's almost anticipating that. So how does that apply in your life. I think we need to follow biblical principles, so I would start by saying we need to have a spending plan and a budget that really says here's how were going to take what God is provided and allocated among provision, enjoyment, contentment, and make sure that we have our bills covered based on the lifestyle you feel like he's called you to. Beyond that, you should be. I believe systematic in your giving and then with excess or with money that you could create by making some changes. I think you have the opportunity to do even more so, I would start without spending plan I'd make sure you have some emergency savings we say as a guideline 3 to 6 months expenses and then look for ways where you can advance your giving beyond that. Tell me about this 20,000 has it been earmarked for anything specific or is it truly over and above your emergency savings and really just available to be given. Even now yet so it it over and we initially were maybe thinking about doing something to the house but as I like that I hurt more. More about… Sacrificial getting and you know we do do that that that the top and then we know without that that even and as part of our spending plan. We do set aside extra money on top of that, for you know any needs that arise in the local chart so I was kind of print. Keep praying about this and not sure if maybe this is something that you know we can come out love the idea and you certainly cannot give God. So I would really make this an adventure with you and your wife and take some time to continue to talk and pray about it and just asked the Lord to make it clear what he would have you to do. It sounds like this is clearly some is been placed on your harden and so I wouldn't let that pass. This may be an opportunity to say you know it, despite what we thought the purpose of this money was working a redirect that knowing that God can use this if we are faithful and in following his leading in that so take some time. Continue to talk and pray through it. But then if that's the direction you're going, I wouldn't hesitate to make that gift and I'm confident that, on the other side of that you'll come back and say you know what that was one of the best decisions we've ever made. So this is going to be a lot of fun.

I'd love for you to send you a book where you can explore this a little bit further. It's called the treasure principles by Randy Alcorn if you stay on the line. I will get your information get that right out to Thomas were glad you called today, stick on, let's get some information from you and then will be back to speak with Frederick. He's filing his taxes this year for the first time as a minister. That and more money wise live continues.

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