It’s certainly not unheard offor an older employee to return to work after a serious illness orterminally ill employees to return to work to regain a semblance ofnormalcy. In situations like these, it’s always to the benefit ofboth employee and employer to be prepared for decisions affectingtheir wellbeing, treatment and care. Yet so few people evertalk about or write down how they want those decisionsmade.

Although in your role asbenefits advisors, the topic of living wills may not frequentlycome up, considering the growing number of terminally ill employeesreturning to work, it makes sense for you to be educated on advancedirective documents and be able to wisely advise your clients inthis area.

In broad terms, an advancedirective is any document that allows a person to state in advancehow they wish to be treated if they are unable to make thosechoices themselves. The most common advance directive is aliving will. Contrary to what many people think, living wills donot have to limit treatment or “pull the plug;” they can also beused to request every medical interventionavailable.