Tragedy was narrowly avoided. For days Mary lay where she had collapsed in the corner of her bedroom. If it wasn't for an alert mail-carrier she would have died there as well.
But thankfully this story has a happier ending and in no small part due to a little piece of paper she carried with her in her purse.
Mary was 87 years old. She was single - never married and never had children.
Few people visited and she left her home rarely; just to attend church and to buy food.
Early in January 2005, she visited my office (I am an estate planning attorney) to organize her estate.
We updated her documents to include the new HIPAA language.
She desired that all her money (nearly half a million dollars) go to her church. She requested I be her personal representative to carry out her wishes.
At that time she also signed her pocket living will which folds up into the size of a credit card so it could be carried in its clear vinyl cover in her wallet.
One hot summer day last year her mail-carrier became alarmed at the uncollected mail in her box and alerted the police. Breaking in, they found her dehydrated and unconscious in the corner where she had laid for an unknown number of days.
At the hospital an alert physician found my name on her pocket living will which was in her wallet and called me. I immediately went to the hospital to make sure her health care wishes were followed.
Happily, she surprised everyone and began to gain strength and was soon able to carry on simple conversations.
When she was well enough, I transferred her to an excellent nursing care facility where I could go visit her often. It was finally determined that the cause of her collapse was terminal cancer. She died 4 months later.
But what might have happened to Mary if they hadn't known who to contact?
What if she didn't carry her pocket living will in her purse?
The doctors would not know who to contact
She probably would have been assigned to a state funded nursing facility.
The court would have appointed a conservator to make decisions.
Had I not been contacted, her Last Will and Testament might never have been discovered
Her estate would have been declared "intestate" meaning the courts and state law would decide who would receive the inheritance. Because she had no known living relatives, the state would have inherited everything instead of her church.
The good news is that because of the little piece of paper she carried (a pocket living will) her wishes were honored.
Visit http://www.StevenAllen.com for tips and tools on Estate Planning. To obtain a pocket living will visit PocketLivingWill. Steven W. Allen has been a practicing Estate Planning attorney for over 30 years and is the author of four books including "You Can't Take It With You...So How Will You Leave It Behind?". Go to Estate Planning Doctor and download a free chapter.
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