Preparation is key! preparing for the inevitable... health care proxies.

It goes without question that at some point in our lives we will all be stricken by illness, and that on one eve we will fall into our death beds. However, while many individuals prepare to some degree by having life insurance, and perhaps a will, these are all instruments to ensure that others are protected in our absence.

There is a general tendency to protect our loved ones, while siimultaneously a lack of attention paid to our own wishes in our final days.

A health care proxy is a form which may be filled, designating an individual which may make decisions for you if you are in a position where you can not make medical decisions for yourself. while to many this may seem like a minor issue, and the assumption that at a given moment a specific loved one will take charge and ensure that our wishes are properly followed... this may not always be the case, and the abundance of opinions and relatives may lead to great conflict during this already stressful time.

I generally suggest ALL individuals fill out such a health care proxy and maintain multiple copies, as well as give multiple copies to the individual named as proxy, and those around us.

In New York such a form may be downloaded from online at this site:
http://www.health.state.ny.us/professionals/patients/health_care_proxy/instructions.htm