Living Wills Benefit Families They Relieve Considerable Stress

When someone is diagnosed with a terminal illness, their loved ones are often left to make difficult decisions about their care. A living will provides guidance for these decisions and helps to ensure that medical treatment preferences are carried out. The living will allows families to make it through challenging and stressful times.

What It is and What It Does

A living will is a pre-paid legal services benefit many group legal plans offer. It is also known as an advance directive, and it specifies a person’s wishes regarding medical treatment if a person cannot communicate them to a healthcare provider because of an accident or terminal illness.

A living will generally covers two areas: life-sustaining treatment and organ donation. With respect to life-sustaining treatment, an individual can specify whether they want to receive mechanical ventilation, dialysis, and other similar treatments. They can also indicate whether they want to receive nutrition and hydration through artificial means.

Organ donation allows individuals to specify whether they want to donate any or all internal organs upon death. They can also determine which organs are donated and to whom.

A Living Will is Important

The truth is that accidents happen, and they often occur without warning. Anyone in a situation where they cannot communicate wishes regarding medical treatment will have their health care wishes carried out if there is a living will. No one must make any decisions or choices.

Not only does this take some of the burden off loved ones during what is sure to be an emotionally challenging time, but it also helps avoid potential disagreements amongst family members about what course of action should be taken. In addition, having a living will in place means everyone knows exactly what medical treatment is wanted, and there is no room for interpretation or guessing.

Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services offers a living will as a group legal plan option. Our nationwide network of experienced attorneys provides the service, and we have an attorney in the community of every Countrywide client.

Empathy Based Service

A group legal plan member needs to understand all the legal terminology, and a Countrywide lawyer explains everything. Courtesy and elevated levels of emotional intelligence are part of the pre-paid legal services we give the employees of every client. People can expect to be treated with courtesy and respect regardless of their job title.

Client Involvement

Countrywide wants to establish a strong working relationship with each one of our group legal plan clients. This rapport starts at the plan design stage.

We have several pre-paid legal services benefit options, but we understand that some of them are unnecessary for a client’s demographics. So, we will meet with management and explain all our benefits and how each helps employees. We will then ask the client to decide what options will be in their group legal plan document. Though selections are included in the final plan, we provide member services and streamlined administration. The result is an employee benefit that responds to needs quickly and effectively.

While no one likes to think about their own mortality, creating a living will is an essential step in ensuring that personal wishes will be carried out if the plan member cannot communicate them. Not only does this take some of the burdens off of loved ones during an already tough time, but it also helps avoid potential disagreements—and associated legal fees—between family members. Countrywide can furnish a living will that will keep a tragedy from becoming a heart-wrenching disaster.