• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • Attorney and Staff Profiles
    • Speaker Connection
  • Services
    • Asset Protection & Business Planning
    • Elder Law & Medicaid Services
    • Estate Planning Services
    • Financial Planning Assistance
    • Incapacity Planning
    • IRA & Retirement Planning
    • Legacy Planning
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Pet Planning
    • Probate
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Wills & Trusts
  • Elder Law
    • Coping with Alzheimer’s
    • Guardianship and Conservatorship
    • Medicaid Crisis Planning
    • Medicaid Planning
  • Seminars
  • Webinars
  • Resources
    • Communities We Serve
      • Keller, Texas
    • Elder Law Resources
      • Elder Law & Medicaid Definitions
      • Elder Law Reports
    • Estate Planning Resources
      • 3 Reasons to Create a Trust
      • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
      • Estate Planning Articles
      • Estate Planning Definitions
      • Estate Planning Reports
        • Advanced Estate Planning
        • Basic Estate Planning
        • Estate Planning for Niches
        • Trust Administration
      • Estate Planning Worksheet
      • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
    • Free Consultation
    • Free Estate Planning Seminars
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Estate Planning
      • Trust Administration & Probate
    • Newsletters
    • Our Client Care Program
    • Pre Consultation Form
    • Professional Resources
      • Educational Alerts
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • Contact Us
  • Blog

McGee Law Firm

Your Resource for Estate Planning, Elder Law and Medicaid / VA Planning

Call Us Today 817-899-3286
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
Attend a Free Seminar
Home / Guardianship / The Choice Is Yours: Don’t Lose Your Chance to Make It

The Choice Is Yours: Don’t Lose Your Chance to Make It

June 1, 2022 by Brandon McGee

Make sure your wishes are known with a health care directive.

Most of us have heard of Terri Schiavo and her lack of a health care directive.  Terri had a heart problem and slipped into a coma in Florida in her 20s.  Terri had not expressed with great clarity what she wanted done in such a situation.  This caused great anguish for her husband and her parents for years.  Eventually, her husband decided that Terri should be allowed to die by removing her feeding tube.  Her parents did not agree with the decision and fought it time and again.  After years of court and political battles involving the state and federal courts and legislatures, Terri’s husband prevailed and the feeding tube was removed.  After 15 years of struggles for Terri and her family, both emotional and political, Terri died in 2005.

choice

There have been other high profile cases like Terri’s: Where someone goes into a coma for years and years, never to recover.  Nancy Cruzan also did not have a health care directive.  Karen Quinlan.  Their names live on long after they are no longer around.  But, not every long-term coma ends the same way.  Sometimes, though rarely, someone regains consciousness after years and years in a coma.

Sarah Scantlin gives hope to all those waiting for loved ones to recover from such comas.  Sarah was 18 years old when she was struck by a drunk driver as she crossed the street one Kansas evening.  Sarah’s brain swelled and she slipped into a coma.  Her family spent years at her side.  Finally, after being told there was no hope for Sarah’s recovery and in order to regain lives of their own, her family reduced the visits to the nursing home caring for Sarah.  Then, one day the nursing home called Sarah’s parents.  “I have someone who wants to talk with you.”  And then Sarah’s mother, Betsy, heard the unmistakable sound of Sarah’s voice, speaking the words she had dreamed of and prayed for, “Hi, Mom.”  After more than 20 years, Sarah had recovered from the coma and now provides hope to other, similarly situated, families.

It is difficult to know when to keep hope alive and when to allow death with dignity.  Each of us has our own very personal thoughts on the issue, formed from our own experiences, religious beliefs, and upbringing.  You can express those thoughts and make sure that your wishes are carried out if necessary.  A Living Will (sometimes called a Health Care Directive) can express your wishes in this regard.  Note, it is important for every adult to have his or her own Living Will.  All too often, these situations involve young adults: Sarah was just 18 when she entered her coma; Terri Schiavo was only in her 20s.  So, be sure every adult member of your family has a Living Will to express their wishes.

A qualified estate planning attorney can help you guard against the unthinkable by helping you express your wishes in a legally respected manner.  With your directives in place, you can live your life to the fullest, savoring each day – just as Sarah does.

Compliments of the McGee Law Firm, Attorney Brandon McGee

Written By: The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Brandon McGee
Brandon McGee
Brandon McGee enjoys a successful law practice focusing on estate planning, elder law, Medicaid preplanning and crisis planning, and probate. Brandon and his team combine legal skills with compassion and understanding to develop estate plans that are personalized to the needs of each of their clients.
Brandon McGee
Latest posts by Brandon McGee (see all)
  • The Not-So Transparent Corporate Transparency Act - March 28, 2023
  • Medicaid Planning: There’s a Right Way and a Wrong Way - March 23, 2023
  • Preparing Your Estate Plan: What You Need to Know - March 22, 2023

Filed Under: Advanced Directive, Guardianship

About Brandon McGee

Brandon McGee enjoys a successful law practice focusing on estate planning, elder law, Medicaid preplanning and crisis planning, and probate. Brandon and his team combine legal skills with compassion and understanding to develop estate plans that are personalized to the needs of each of their clients.

Primary Sidebar

Blog Subscription

Sign up for our estate planning blog to receive all of our latest news and updates!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Follow us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube

TESTIMONIALS

Client Review
May 25, 2021
    

Brandon McGee is knowledgeable, experienced and professional regarding Estate Planning. The entire process of multiple meetings to establish our input, draft and sign documents and fund the Trust were well organized and clearly explained. At completion, we were presented with a very well organized binder with the documents (both paper and electronic) and lists for future action.  In short, we find Brandon McGee and his staff to be competent, professional and friendly. ~ Brian C.

default image
Brian C.

Fort Worth Address

Fort Worth
810 W. 10th Street
Fort Worth, TX 76102
United States (US)
Phone: (817) 899-3286
See Larger mapGet Directions

Fort Worth Map

map

Southlake Address

Southlake
101 River Oaks Dr., Ste. 110
Southlake, Texas 76092
United States (US)
Phone: (817) 899-3286
See Larger mapGet Directions

Footer

  • Advantages of Working With our Firm
  • About the American Academy
  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap
  • Contact Us

Connect to Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
footer logo

© 2023 McGee Law Firm
All Rights Reserved