8mm
Monty Python “Bring out your dead “.
You need to have enough that your family will not be destitute if you die.
But it needs to not be so much that you are worth more dead to your family.
So just make sure your living will is written correctly. There, fixed it.
Sorry Danny, Christ didn’t like lawyers much, and neither do I. “Christian” and “attorney” are contradictory, as believers don’t lie without God correcting them, and I don’t see lawyers getting corrected by God...
I have the same issues at my firm (we execute about 250 Directives To Physicians a year, in addition to the other estate planning documents). The question most often asked is whether, if they have this document, the Emergency Department at the hospital won’t treat their injuries if they get in a car accident. We explain (ad nauseum, sometimes) that the election clearly doesn’t apply to emergency situations like that. I have considered adding some language to the statutorily suggested form to that effect.
Colonel, USAFR
This smells of a lawyer whose probate earnings have taken a hit in recent years.
There are solutions to a number of concerns. To the cold-blooded (Hollandesque) scenario for instance, adding safety language to the discretion given to the attending doctor’s is offered here: http://www.pascalfervor.com/Commentary/Deadly_Living_Wills.html
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Having a living will is an invitation for a hospital or nursing home to neglect you to death.
A “Will to Live” is better than a “Living Will” and can be downloaded to be used, or just used as an example, from www.nrlc.org.
You have to be very careful with “living wills.”
For instance:
“I don’t want to be on a respirator,” it could mean one thing if it would only prolong an imminent death for months or years, and another thing if it would only be needed for 48 or more hours after an accident, and one could be restored to normal health.