Advance Directives: A Practical Discussion Part 1
As college students, we spend a vast amount of our time talking about our futures, after all, we spend our four years at college focusing on graduating and our careers. We imagine what jobs we may have, the people we will meet, where in the world we will have traveled to and where we will be living in ten years. It’s a time of excitement and unknown that we can’t wait to find out the answers to, but how many of us think about the end of our lives?
As young people, it is unlikely that we have put much thought into this topic. What’s more, it is difficult to think about by yourself, let alone bring up in conversation with family and friends. It’s not a dinner party topic to discuss what would happen if someone was unconscious or dying in a hospital. The reality is we don’t know when or how our lives will come to an end and that this conversation is not spoken about enough in our culture. Surely it is better to have discussed this and know, than not know?
According to Jeffrey Lang in his webinar Advance Directives: A Practical Conversation Part 1 only 30% of Americans have an advance directive, whereas 60% think it is a good idea as it allows you to have control and choice.
Lang talks about a well-known right-to-die, legal case called the Terri Schiavo case in the 1990s and early 2000s. After a cardiac arrest at the age of 26, Terri was left in an “irreversible persistent vegetative state” (Wikipedia). Her husband and legal guardian wanted to remove her feeding tube, whereas her parents did not want to. After years of appeals, the federal court ruled the original decision to have the feeding tube removed in 2005, two weeks later Terri passed away.
This case is a good example of why advance directives are relevant to everyone, even college students. If Terri had an advance directive, which is a free, end-of-life plan, legal document, the situation could have been very different for her and her family. It would have reduced confusion about what her wishes would have been, stopping others from choosing her and it could have also been a very different story financially for the family.
As mentioned above this form is free, therefore there is no excuse as to why we should not each do one and encourage others around us to do so as well. It can be easy to forget about these types of forms, but that is extremely important if they are ever needed. If you change your mind about any of your decisions, the form can be changed at any time by filling out a new one. This link explains the different sections on the California advance directive form in more depth, you will need two witnesses for the form to be completed. Click here for the link to the form.
To learn more work with a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) practitioner or reach out to the Financial Planning program here at California Lutheran University.
About the Speaker:
Jeffrey Lang is the director of supervision for the southeast division and a financial planner of Lincoln Financial Advisors, a registered investment advisor, and broker-dealer. He attended Townsend University in Baltimore, Maryland where he received his Certified Financial Planner certificate in 1984. Lang also earned a charter leadership fellow and chartered life underwriter designation from the American College.
He attended Richard de Irwin Graduate School at The American College. He got his Masters of Science in financial services degree there in 1992, his Masters of Science in Management degree in 1995 and chartered leadership fellow designation in 2004 as well as a chartered life underwriter designation in 2012. Lang is a Ph.D. candidate in the financial and retirement planning program at an American college. He is currently an adjunct faculty for Baltimore and Villa Julie College, as well as being invited as a frequent lecturer at the university and other places of the establishment.
About the Author:
Rosie Baker is an undergraduate student at California Lutheran University studying Communication with an emphasis in PR and Advertising. She is also minoring in Creative Writing.
Watch the archived webinar below:
Advance Directives: A Practical Conversation Part 1 – Jeffrey Lang
Learn more about Cal Lutheran’s Financial Planning Program here and follow us on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/financialplanningclu