From a letter in the New York Times:
Older adults who do not formally convey their treatment preferences to loved ones create a distressing situation in which children and spouses must make emotionally draining (and costly) decisions about whether to continue or stop life-extending treatment.
As Ms. Jacoby points out, one obstacle to planning is a reluctance to discuss and confront one’s own demise. Yet my research, based on interviews with more than 7,500 Americans, points to another important obstacle: money. Many people complete their advance directives as part of their estate planning; the living will is written up along with one’s will and other documents to protect one’s assets.
But many people with few financial assets to protect do not take the important first step that often kicks off the advance care planning process. People in the lowest quartile of assets are only half as likely as those at the top of the assets ladder to have a living will, to appoint a health care proxy or to discuss their treatment preferences with loved ones.
