On Tue 17 Jun 2008 03:01:28p, Goomba told us...

> Giusi wrote:
>
>> I have been to several civil partner ceremonies in the past couple of
>> years. Most of them have been because without it a long term partner
>> can have no rights in emergencies. One friend of a friend was
>> forbidden to enter the hospital room where his partner lay dying by a
>> bitter family who had not spoken to either of them in a decade.
>> Then there are inheritance issues-- in some countries you cannot leave
>> your estate away from family or spouse so it could be important that
>> your partner be legally a spouse.
>>
> I know I've written on this here in the past but I'll repeat it for
> those who never heard it before- In the US all one has to do is have an
> Advanced Directive for Medical Care and a Durable Power of Attorney
> drawn up with WHOMEVER they WISH as their representative and who will
> have the legal right to make decisions. Of course this should be done
> before you need it...but rarely is?

Fortunately,, we have taken care of all that. We had wills drafted shortly
after we met and have kept them updated. Before David was to have his
quadruple bypass surgery, we made sure that we both had all the other
documents in good order.

> The inheritance issues need to be addressed separately in a will.
> I've never once experienced a "partner" being denied full access to a
> patient in my care, except (in the not unheard of cases) where a man has
> a wife AND girlfriends! I've experienced plenty of infighting amongst
> family members who disagree amongst themselves over the patient.

I knew of a male couple back in Cleveland where, due to a serious accident,
one partern was clinically brain dead. They had no documents in place, and
the parents would permit no visitation or intervention or decision making
by his partner. They had been together for nearly 30 years. It happens.



--
Wayne Boatwright
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Tuesday, 06(VI)/17(XVII)/08(MMVIII)
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Interstellar Matter is a Gas
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