A living will sounds like a contradiction. Wills are supposed to convey the wishes of dead people so why bother with one? A living will, and the accompanying medical powers of attorney, are more important than many people can appreciate. Both safeguard the emotions of survivors and loved ones.
The Cold Reality behind Living Wills
A medical crisis is nondiscriminatory: it will strike a person regardless of race, sex, color, or creed. An automobile accident or a cardiac seizure can render a person unconscious and unable to communicate. Healthcare providers are ethically mandated to comply with a patient’s wishes. A comatose victim cannot communicate instructions and the hospitals only course of action is a life support system. Life support puts a person in vegetative limbo; living but not responsive.
The patient’s family goes through the pain of watching a loved one lying in bed with minimal recovery chances. No one knows what medical care the patient wants. Death may be months or even years away. Group legal plans must address the living will issue and Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services does that. We have a living will option in our group legal plan benefits.
Compassion Matters
We work with a nationwide network of attorneys. These legal experts provide direct pre-paid legal services to our plan members. The Countrywide lawyer practices in the community and a group legal plan member gets priority attention. Face-to-face meetings are easy to arrange.
Understandably, a person may be a little hesitant. Living wills cause a person to confront mortality and the possibility of a serious accident. Our attorneys sympathize with the situation. They patiently explain what should be in the document and discuss the legal side of things with the individual.
Medical powers of attorney will take a major stress off a family’s shoulders. Loved ones often get wrapped up in emotional arguments about the care of a comatose person, and the disputes can go unforgiven and unforgotten for years. Medical powers of attorney designate one individual as having the power to make decisions. He or she assumes the responsibility of person’s care which will reduce the chances of bitter family feuds. Countrywide will gladly draft a medical powers of attorney document for a plan member as a pre-paid legal services benefit.
A person should be confident in the expertise of a Countrywide attorney. The lawyers understand what must be part of either a living will or medical powers of attorney for the documents to be effective. The language is precise and accurate
The Role of the Employer
We want the client to be directly involved in creating a group legal plan. Countrywide believes the decision-makers know best when it comes to what their employees need. Consequently, we ask the client executives to decide what benefit options will be part of their pre-paid legal services benefit.
This makes sure that the final document is something that every group legal plan member of the organization will be able to use. Countrywide explains the benefits, but we do not try to market one option over another. The final plan is something that the client wants for their employees. Our expert member services make certain that everyone receives what they need in a timely fashion from the attorneys.
Younger employees should think about having a living will and medical powers of attorney. A medical catastrophe can strike without warning and can cause emotional damage to a young family. It is better to have a plan of action beforehand. It can be argued that having a living will and medical powers of attorney are examples of good financial planning. It brings closure to a traumatic situation and allows survivors to move forward to the last will.
If you have any questions about the Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services benefits, please feel free to contact us at your earliest convenience. We would welcome the opportunity to explain the Countrywide difference and how it has a positive impact on any employee benefits program.