Living Will vs Advance Healthcare Directive: What's the Difference in New Jersey? - Christine Matus
Episode notes
From The Matus Law Group - Living Will vs Advance Healthcare Directive: What's the Difference in New Jersey? explains how these two planning tools work together to protect your medical wishes when you cannot speak for yourself. Listeners will learn that in New Jersey, an advance directive serves as the umbrella term covering both a living will and a healthcare proxy, and that most people benefit from having both documents in place. The episode walks through what a living will covers, including terminal illness, permanent unconsciousness, and life-sustaining treatment preferences, as well as what a healthcare proxy does in naming a trusted healthcare representative to make decisions on your behalf.
The discussion draws on guidance from The Matus Law Group, where Christine Matus of The Matus Law Group has helped families throughout Monmouth County and New Jersey prepare advance directives. Listeners will hear about the requirements under New Jersey law for executing these documents, including the need for two adult witnesses or notarization, and how the documents become effective only when a physician determines a person lacks the capacity to make healthcare decisions. The episode also touches on related topics such as who cannot serve as a healthcare representative and how these documents can be changed or revoked over time.
Christine Matus is a Monmouth County estate planning attorney who has practiced estate planning and real estate law in New Jersey for many years. She graduated from Douglass College at Rutgers University and received her Juris Doctor from Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, and she is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association and the Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association. Her background and experience inform the practical advice shared throughout the episode about healthcare planning documents.
Listeners in Red Bank and throughout Monmouth County and New Jersey will come away with a clearer understanding of how a living will and a healthcare proxy differ, when each applies, and why having both offers the most complete protection. The episode closes with an invitation to reach out to The Matus Law Group to schedule a consultation and begin the process of putting these important documents in place.
The Matus Law Group
125 Half Mile Rd #201A, Red Bank, NJ 07701
(732) 785-4453