How soon we forget: Post-Schiavo interest in living wills wanes
In the months following the highly publicized familyfeud over the life and death of Terry Schiavo, interest in living willsseems to have faded in Greater Cincinnati after an initial surge.”Iwould say the interest has probably completely died down. Anyone whowas motivated (by the Schiavo case) has probably taken care of it, orit’s on the back burner again,” said attorney Matt Darpel, of FortMitchell, who prepares living wills and handles estate law andfinancial planning.
Ed: In some states, the lack of an advance directive means that courts will necessarily become involved in medical decisionmaking. In others, surrogate decision-maker statutes establish the priority of various family members and others who will be empowered to make those decisions.
For more information, see NELN.org’s advance directives information.