End-of-Life Discussions Over the Holidays

For many the holiday season means getting the whole family together in one place, which may not be a common occurrence, and may be the perfect time to discuss how older members of the family wish their health matters be decided if they become unable to do so. Here are some conversation topics to help make the most of the opportunities to talk  with aging family members about end-of-life decisions that the holidays can bring:

• Ask if the family member has already decided how some health related issues should be handled.
• Inquire on their views on the experience others that they know have had with making end-of-life decisions.
• Find out where they prefer end-of-life care to take place, such as at their home or in hospice.
• Ask how they feel about receiving various forms of life-sustaining treatment.
• Get an understanding of how they define common terms that will come up, such as “quality of life” and “reasonable chance of recovery.”
• Open up the conversation to see if they have anything to add to the conversation that has not been addressed.

See Todd Essig, How to Include End-of-Life Conversations in Your Holiday Plans, Forbes, Nov. 29, 2014.

Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.