Free legal assistance regarding living wills will be available to those age 60 and over on May 2, at each of Queen Anne’s County’s senior centers.

Volunteer attorneys from Mid Shore Pro Bono, Inc. and Legal Aide Bureau, Inc. will be at all four senior centers preparing free personal Five Wishes documents for seniors. Queen Anne’s County Department of Aging joined a state-wide initiative to provide county seniors with free preparation of Advance Directives, such as Five Wishes.

Five Wishes is an easy to complete “advance directive” or living will that addresses all your personal needs- the medical and legal, and also your emotional, family, and spiritual needs.  It also lets you choose the person you want to make medical decisions for you if you are not able to make them for yourself.

Completing Five Wishes is a gift to your family, friends, and your doctors because it keeps them out of the difficult position of having to guess what kind of treatment you want or don’t want. Second-guessing, guilty feelings and family disagreements are avoided when everyone knows your wishes ahead of time.

Five Wishes meets the legal requirements for Maryland and is useful in all 50 states. You can change it at anytime by completing a new one and destroying the old one.

Everyone over the age of 18 is encouraged to have an advance directive such as Five Wishes. We challenge everyone to take control of how you want and expect to be treated at the end of your life.

Seniors age 60 and over should call 410-758-0848 to set up an appointment for free assistance with obtaining and completing a Five Wishes document at one of our senior centers on Monday, May 2, 2011. Call now, space is limited.