We all need to consider legal and health care decisions as we age so that our wishes are carried out and so that family and loved ones have guidance for the care you would like to receive. The Family Caregiver Alliance article "Making End-of-Life Decisions" provides clear guidance and resources  including documents that everyone should have including:  Advance Health Care Directive; POLST (Physicians Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment); Will; Durable Power of Attorney for Finance; and Final Arrangements.  The article also emphasizes the importance of having a central place to keep all of your important papers so that family members can find these documents when needed. 

Note:  This article will appear in a new window as a "pop-up." If you have difficulty opening the article, you could have a pop-up blocker installed on your browser that needs to be uninstalled to view the article.

Used with permission of Family Caregiver Alliance, National Center on Caregiving--40 years of experience advocating for policies and delivering programs nationwide to support and sustain the quality work of family caregivers and caregiving professionals. Leads quality education, provides compassionate caregiver planning services and works to bridge research and practice to benefit all caregivers.  For more information, visit www.caregiver.org or call (800) 445-8106.