"You can't make end of life decisions unless there's a legal document in place. You will know exactly what you want by giving someone the ability to speak for you," says Hollander.
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TRAVERSE CITY -- Rose Hollander is a paralegal in Traverse City. She has worked with clients over the years on estate planning and legal documents when it comes to end of life situations. She's especially certified when it comes to advance medical directives, or documents that speak for someone if they're unable to speak for themselves, as the result of a medical emergency.
"You can't make end of life decisions unless there's a legal document in place. You will know exactly what you want by giving someone the ability to speak for you," says Hollander.
Having worked with clients for years on this exact issue, Hollander herself experienced a personal complication about five years that had her turning to an advance medical directive for her late husband, Stuart who was an attorney in Suttons Bay.
"Stuart was 54, good health. We were on a typical summer evening boat ride when he was putting our boat on the trailer and head a heart attack. It was based on a congenital condition that he had lived with for all of his life and didn't know about it," says Hollander.
To lose her husband to a sudden heart attack was never something Hollander expected, but she did plan ahead with him years before, should one of them be faced with the unexpected.
"We knew it was necessary. I took that experience to heart. Having had knowledge of what exactly his wishes were, I didn't have to really think about it. I remember counseling clients and it's interesting to be in those shoes yourself, it brought it all home for me," says Hollander.
For Hollander, the grieving process was difficult enough, but it was the legal document that expressed her late husband's end of life wishes, that relieved some of the trauma.
"You know exactly what that person has told you that they wished. You don't have to guess," says Hollander.
Jane Dinnen, the coordinator of advance care planning with Munson Medical Center in Traverse City says, with the start of a new year, it's usually a good time to at least talk with your loved ones about the possibility of an unexpected health situation.
"It starts to prepare us for the fact that we're all mortal. If we're going to remove the stress we've got to talk about it more often. You'll make it easier on your family. You can either go to an attorney who will help in preparing an advance directive or go to any Munson and to go the registration desk and ask for a copy of the Five Wishes, then sit down and fill it out," says Dinnen.
The Five Wishes is just another option like an advance medical directive that you fill out to express your wants. For Rose Hollander, it was her late husband Stuart's wants that were followed through.
For more information about the Five Wishes or advance care planning, click here.
