[Narrator]

A second form of advance health directive, a living will, is a statement that tells your physician and family that you do not want your life prolonged by medical procedures if you are near death without any chance for recovery. Living wills are not considered as effective as a durable power of attorney. That's because a piece of paper is less able than an agent to serve as your advocate and ensure that your wishes are carried out.

A will is a written document that spells out your wishes for taking care of your responsibilities after you die. For example, a will usually explains how you would like your property to be distributed. It also names a legal guardian, the person you want to take care of your children who are still minors, and names an executor, the person who sees that the instructions in your will are followed.
 
Each state has laws that list the requirements that a will must meet in order to be valid. It is important that you know what these requirements are. A lawyer can be very helpful in this. If you feel that you cannot afford a lawyer, many states have legal aid agencies that can help answer your questions. Your cancer center or hospital social worker can help you contact a legal aid society. Or, you may be able to talk with someone at your local community center about this.

A will can distribute money you plan to leave for your heirs in the form of a trust. A trust is a financial relationship in which one party holds title to property for the benefit of another party. There are many kinds of trusts depending upon the goals and purposes to be accomplished. Trusts may legally protect your assets, but they can be very complex. You should talk with a lawyer to help determine if a trust is best for you and to draw up a trust if you decide to do that.

Kathy and her husband also had to take care of some other financial issues during Kathy's treatment phase.

[Kathy] 

I was very sick for awhile. So sick that I had to stop working. I took a medical leave from work. At first, I took all of my sick time and vacation time. After that, I was able to go on disability. My husband had to take about 3 months off from his job to take care of me and our children. He was able to get that much time off because of what is called the Family and Medical Leave Act. This Act means that your job is safe while you're off from work because of emergency reasons. But, you don't get paid. Money got very tight for us. We used to rely on my income to pay for private schools for our kids and to help with care for my elderly parents. But now, we needed help. The social worker at my cancer center told us about some possible sources of extra money for us. We talked with a financial counselor for additional advice.

The financial counselor suggested that we look at some other options. She said we could use our life insurance plan to get some money to pay for expenses during treatment. She also told us about companies called "viaticals" that will either buy your life insurance policy from you and give you money right away, or base a loan on your life insurance policy. We met with people from a couple of these companies so we would have a better idea of what they offer and what it would cost.

I also had a small life insurance policy that we could use to tide us over during this really tough time. We found out that, because of the Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990, we could not be denied a loan or other financial service just because of my cancer history. This meant that we didn't have to worry about being able to apply for a loan while I was sick. This all may seem like a lot to think about. But, knowing that we had some options to choose from and that we could pick the ones that were best for us made me feel a lot more secure.

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