Legal, health care documents are important

Dear Geezer,   

I have a friend who could use your help. She is in her 70s, and has a chronic disease. She is single and has grown children. She can’t afford a lawyer. She would like to make a living will and a will. She wants to talk to a lawyer, but she is low-income. She also wants to ask what a living will involves. Thank you.

Jan   

Dear Jan,

I commend your friend for wanting to take care of these health-related legal matters before there is an emergency health crisis. The health-care documents she is referring to are a living will and a durable power of attorney for health care.

The living will indicates what kind of medical treatment she wants if she has a life-threatening health crisis. The durable power of attorney for health care designates one or more persons to act on her behalf if she is physically or cognitively unable to speak for herself in that crisis.

Together, they are referred to as an “advance directive.” She or you can actually get those documents online on the Idaho Secretary of State’s website, www.sos.idaho/gov. Look for “Heath Care Directive Registry” on the left-side menu. Then follow download instructions.

Your friend also wants to know more about having a will. You or she can get a blank will document at any office supply store and then “fill in the blanks.” But it appears she wants some direction from an attorney about just what she needs.

As it happens, in the last few months a new, basic legal assistance program has begun in Sandpoint. It is called LARC — Legal Assistance Resource Connection. It is sponsored by Transitions in Progress, the shelter program that serves homeless families and victims of domestic violence.

LARC has a number of attorneys who volunteer their time and expertise to help community members learn to navigate the challenges of our legal system. I believe your friend could get the information she needs from a LARC attorney. She can call TIPS at 265-2952 for an appointment to see an attorney. Appointments are held twice a month from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at the Sandpoint United Methodist Church, Main and Boyer.

I hope your friend finds the advice she seeks. She is on the right track getting these important documents in place before she actually needs them.

n Paul R. Graves, M.Div. is founder of Elder Advocates, Inc., a consulting ministry on aging issues. Contact him at elderadvocates@nctv.com or 208-265-5540