“When drafted and executed properly, your physician or other healthcare providers should honor the

decisions made in your Advance Directive.”

RICHARD B. SCHNEIDER OREGON ESTATE PLANNING ATTORNEY

OREGON ADVANCE DIRECTIVES

Oregon Advance Directives www.rbsllc.com 2

Thinking or even planning for your own death or incapacity is not

enjoyable, but it is necessary. Failing to plan can have disastrous

consequences. For example, do you have strong feelings about prolonging

your life through the use of life-sustaining measures? Is there someone

specific whom you would want to make important healthcare decisions for

you, should you be unable to make them for yourself some day? Do you

want the ability to decide whether or not you are resuscitated if you have a

terminal illness at some point in the future? If the answer to any of these

questions is “yes”, you need to include an advance directive in your estate

plan, to ensure that your wishes with regard to important healthcare

related matters are honored.

Oregon Advance Directives www.rbsllc.com 3

WHY IS AN ADVANCE DIRECTIVE NECESSARY?

Most likely, you have discussed your wishes related to things such as end-

of-life treatment with your spouse, parent, or adult child. You may feel that

this discussion is

sufficient to ensure

that those wishes will

be carried out.

Unfortunately, this is

simply not the case. A

physician cannot

disconnect life support

simply because a family

member claims the

patient would not want

to be kept alive on life support. Moreover, what happens if another family

member claims the patient would never want the plug pulled? Sadly, this

happens more often than people realize. When a patient is unable to

express his or her wishes, loved ones often end up in a costly and

protracted legal battle over the right to make those decisions for the

patient. In the end, no one wins. The law does allow you to make your

own end-of-life decisions ahead of time, as well as provide you with the

ability to appoint someone to make decisions for you should you be unable

to make them. However, those decisions must be made in writing in the

form of an Advance Directive. The advance directive must follow very

specific guidelines to be recognized and honored in Oregon.

Oregon Advance Directives www.rbsllc.com 4

WHAT IS AN ADVANCE DIRECTIVE?

In the State of Oregon an Advance Directive is a legal document that

serves two important functions. First, it allows you to appoint a “Health

Care Representative”. Second, it allows you to decide ahead of time what

type of end-of-life medical treatment you accept or refuse should you be

unable to express your wishes at some point in the future. When drafted

and executed properly, your physician or other healthcare providers should

honor the decisions made in your Advance Directive.

Oregon Advance Directives www.rbsllc.com 5

WHAT DOES A HEALTH CARE REPRESENTATIVE DO?

A Health Care Representative is someone who will have the legal authority

to consent to medical treatment on your behalf, in the event that you

become incapacitated. Your Health Care Representative has no authority or

control over your medical treatment until you are declared to be

incapacitated and unable to consent yourself. In addition, your Health Care

Representative cannot override decisions you made yourself with regard to

end-of-life treatment, as long as those decisions are included in your

Advance Directive. Once an individual has been appointed as a Health Care

Representative, that person is locked into making decisions for you should

the need arise. The only way to avoid making those decisions is to resign

as your Representative.

Oregon Advance Directives www.rbsllc.com 6

THE “LIVING WILL” PORTION OF YOUR ADVANCE DIRECTIVE

Along with appointing a Health Care Representative, your Advance

Directive also allows you to make what people commonly refer to as a

“Living Will”. This portion of your Advance Directive is where you may

specifically authorize or refuse certain types of medical treatments in

advance. You also have the ability to direct that life-sustaining treatment be

withheld or withdrawn under certain specific circumstances. Those

circumstances include:

Close to death: Terminal illness in which death is imminent with or

without treatment, and where life support will only postpone the

moment of death.

Permanently unconscious: Completely lacking an awareness of

self and external environment, with no reasonable possibility of a

return to a conscious state.

Advanced progressive illness: A progressive illness that will be

fatal and is unlikely to improve.

Extraordinary suffering: Illness or condition in which life support

will not improve the person's medical condition and would cause the

person permanent and severe pain.

At least two physicians, with one being your treating physician, must

confirm that one of the above circumstances exists for life sustaining

treatment to be withdrawn or withheld.

Oregon Advance Directives www.rbsllc.com 7

THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS FOR AN ADVANCE DIRECTIVE IN

OREGON

Your Advance Directive is one of the most important legal documents to

have. Unfortunately, you will not know if it was drafted properly until you

need it , at which point, you will not be capable of fixing any errors in the

creation or execution of the document. Put simply, there is no room for

mistakes in your Advance Directive. Oregon requires two witnesses to

witness you signing your Advance Directive. One witness can be related to

you by blood, marriage or adoption. However, the other witness cannot be

related to you, and should not expect to inherit anything under the terms

of your will or have any claim against your estate. The second witness

cannot be an owner, operator or employee of a health care facility where

Oregon Advance Directives www.rbsllc.com 8

you are a patient or resident. Neither your Health Care Representative,

your Agent under an existing Power of Attorney, nor your attending

physician can serve as a witness.

Along with the witness requirements, the content of your Advance Directive

is very important. Vague directions, for example, may not provide the

guidance needed to carry out your wishes. In fact, Oregon requires an

Advance Directive to be in a certain form for it to be recognized by a

physician or court should the need arise.

Given the importance of an Advance Directive, and the specificity with

which one must be created, it is highly recommended that you consult with

an experienced estate planning attorney when you decide to create an

Advance Directive in Oregon.

Oregon State Bar, Advanced Directives

Caring Connections, Advance Directive Planning for Important Health Care

Decisions

Oregon.gov, Advance Directive

Oregon Medical Association, Advanced Directives for Health Care

Oregon Advance Directives www.rbsllc.com 9

About the Author

Richard B. Schneider

Before devoting his professional efforts primarily to estate

planning, Mr. Schneider spent over fifteen years working on Wall Street for major law firms and investment banks. After graduating from law school, he practiced general civil law

in New York City for five years, specializing in business transactions, financings and corporate matters. He also

represented major investment banking firms in mortgage trading and real estate-related matters. Among his clients were international shipping companies, commercial and

investment banks and institutional lenders, including General Electric Capital Corporation, Salomon Brothers and Merrill Lynch.

For the next ten years Mr. Schneider served as Senior Vice President at the investment banking firm of Kidder, Peabody, where he managed outside legal counsel for a variety

of large financial transactions between major institutions. He played a central role in the creation of Kidder, Peabody’s mortgage trading subsidiary and advised and executed transactions with insurance companies, pension funds and government agencies,

including the Resolution Trust Company. In 1996 Mr. Schneider established a residence in Portland, Oregon and began his law

practice there in 1997. He has made a long-term commitment to providing first-class estate planning legal services to families and individuals within the Portland metropolitan area and the surrounding SW Washington region. His motivations for

moving to the Northwest were several: the natural scenic beauty of the Northwest landscape, the clean air and streets, the healthy, diversified economy and the overall

high quality of life. Mr. Schneider is very grateful for the warm reception he has received from Portland/Vancouver and is pleased to have become a respected member of the Portland/Vancouver legal and business community.

Mr. Schneider is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the Estate Planning Council of Portland and is

on the board of directors of the the Rental Housing Association of Greater Portland. He is admitted to practice in Oregon, Washington and New York.

Law Offices of Richard B Schneider, LLC www.rbsllc.com

2455 NW Marshall St, Suite 11

Portland, OR 97210 Phone: (503) 241-1215