“The conversation is the important piece. The piece of paper reflects simply in concrete ways what the conversation is. So you have to be able to talk about these things before you can write them down on paper.” – Tom, manager of chaplaincy services
There are as many good ways to begin this discussion as there are families and family members. Some families are in the habit of being very direct, and that works for them. Others begin the conversation …
“Who was going to tell me this?” – Vernell, teacher
The conversation hasn’t ended when the paperwork is signed. Letting family members who weren’t part of the discussion know what you’ve decided is an essential part of the process. To spare them avoidable emotional distress during the time the decisions must be put into effect, let them know in advance what you’ve resolved to do and whom you’ve selected as your health-care agent.
Read on, or click on the video …
At your family meeting, you might want to include a discussion of a couple of case studies that illustrate situations your family might face some day.
With each case study, we provide state-specific answers …
To become more familiar with the issues before discussing them with others, take the Quiz for Health Care Advance Directives. The responses provided are accurate for residents of Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Although laws regarding advance directives for health care may be different in your state, this quiz will give you important topics to consider.
Involve appropriate family members. Be sensitive to a parent’s desire for privacy and balance it with the desire to have all members of the immediate family present. Who constitutes the “immediate family”? Should daughters-in-law and sons-in-law be included? How about adopted children—or children by another marriage? How old should participants be? Could the combined input of in-laws, nieces, and nephews overwhelm the rightful input of a single adult child?
If family relations are tense, some members may not consent to …
It may not be important or best for all family members to know everything about their parents’ lives or financial affairs. What IS important is that parents have:
Before the meeting, make a list of other concerns to be discussed and …
The best situation to foster communication among family members may be a formalized meeting to address concerns. The initiator might contact each person by phone, letter, or e-mail to suggest holding a meeting at a convenient time. Conducting end-of-life discussions during emotionally demanding events, such as holidays and family celebrations, may not be the best time for some families. A time when all are fresh may be better. However, holidays and family celebrations may be the only occasion when you …
This page contains the entire Communicate Your Advance Directives for Health Care lesson to enable you to print a section or the whole lesson.
Return to the Communicate Your Advance Directives for Health Care lesson.
If you had a serious accident or illness that caused permanent loss of mental capacity, leaving you unable to tell your doctor which medical treatments you did or did not want, would your loved ones know what to do? Who would make these decisions for …
One of life’s most important lessons is distinguishing what is trivial from what is not. While we’re tempted to lump our personal documents among life’s petty details, their significance can be major. How quickly could we access our birth certificates, immunization records, wills, vehicular titles, or even three-month-old credit card statements? Did we file them away and, if so, where? How long would it take to find—or replace—them?
A systematic plan for keeping track of important papers can save hours …
The Money Talks web site offers teens, and their teachers, a fun and interactive opportunity to learn about money management. Teens can play games, take quizzes, watch videos, read or download colorful teen guides, and more. The web site is available in English or Spanish.
The Money Talks series is broken into three modules:
These cover ten financial topics, for example; money …
