By the Estate Planning Attorneys at Garg & Associates, PC, serving The Woodlands, Spring, Houston, Conroe, Humble, Kingwood, Tomball, Cypress, Huntsville, Westchase, Southwest, Sugar Land, West Oaks, Alief, Memorial, River Oaks, Stafford, Katy, and Missouri City.

DO NOT RESUSCITATE ORDERS (DNRs)

An individual may execute what is known as an Out-of-Hospital Do-Not-Resuscitate form to convey his or her desire not to be resuscitated if his or her breathing or heartbeat ceases. The form indicates that certain resuscitative measures should not be used on the individual (specifically, the use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation [CPR], advanced airway management, defibrillation, artificial ventilations, and transcutaneous cardiac pacing).

As with a Medical Power of Attorney or a Directive to Physicians, this document allows you to express your personal health care decisions and wishes within specified parameters in the event you are unable to directly communicate with your doctors. The purpose of this advance directive is simply to convey your decision to not be resuscitated outside of a hospital.

An Out-of-Hospital DNR form is often confused with a Directive to Physicians, which is a legal document indicating a person’s wishes with regard to administering or withdrawing artificial life support in the event of a terminal or irreversible condition. Although both documents do in a general sense touch upon the use of life-sustaining measures, the scope and applicability of both the measures and the documents themselves are significantly distinct. It is of the utmost importance to understand the difference between the two documents, and discuss the meaning of each with your Estate Planning attorney.

Although this form is often provided by law offices, an Out-of-Hospital DNR is essentially a medical document, and as such, should be thoroughly discussed with your physician prior to execution. In fact, your physician’s signature will be required on the form itself. While your Estate Planning attorney will be able to discuss the legal scope of the document with you, it is often perilous territory to attempt to advise on whether a particular individual should or should not execute a DNR order. The choice regarding whether to execute the form is inextricably tied with medical issues and again, is best discussed with a trusted medical professional.

Call Garg and Associates today at 281-210-0010 or (alt.) 281-475-4640 or complete our Contact Form and let us assist you with your wills and trusts.