Living will in Thailand; suggestions requested

[NewGuy]

I’ve just been told, in Pattaya, that I need to have a living will. The advice was prompted by my current medical situation..

 

sure, I have Googled but I’d like your experience. How did you indicate that extreme measures are unwanted? What are extreme measures? What must be in a living will.? What should be avoided? Should the document be in Thai as well as my native language?. Do you have a recommended translator for the job.

 

Both serious detail and humour are welcomed.

 

cheers

[CharlieH]

One would assume you dont have a partner or trusted person to be contacted in the event of an issue to ensure your wishes are upheld ? 

 

Personally, if you dont have that, then having it written on a piece of paper in a draw when you might be crashed out on a highway or shopping mall floor isnt going to be very effective in an emergency, consider the following.....

 

1. Inform Key People: Make sure that close family members, friends, and your designated healthcare proxy (if you have one) know about your living will and where it is kept.
2. Share Copies: Give copies of your living will to your primary care physician, your healthcare proxy, and any hospital where you regularly receive treatment.
3. Carry a Medical Alert Card: Carry a card in your wallet or purse that states you have a living will and provides contact information for accessing it quickly.
4. Use Digital Storage: Consider storing a digital copy of your living will on your smartphone or in a secure cloud service, where it can be accessed quickly in an emergency.

By taking these steps, you can help ensure that your living will is accessible and useful even in unexpected situations such as a motorway accident.

[Sheryl]

The document must be in Thai, you will want an English translation as well.

 

Most hospitals have their own forms that they want used so ask about that.. But still make your own since cannot be sure you won't at some point end up in a different hospital.

 

Even more important than the living will is to give someone a HealthCare Power of Attorney. Make sure it is someone who understands your wishes and is on board with them, and willing to be assertive about it.

 

This is what my Living Will says:

 

"

I, XXXX, a citizen of XXX , currently holding an X  Passport with the number XXX  expiring on XXX   having my permanent address at XXXX , being of sound mind and currently 64 years of age, would like to make known the wishes in this Living Will and Health Care Declaration (hereinafter referred to as the “Declaration”).

 

I direct that my family, physician, health care provider, and all others follow the directions I am writing down in this Declaration. If the time comes when I can no longer take part in decisions for my own future, let this Declaration stand as the testament to my wishes.

 

I understand that this Declaration will only be valid and enforceable if I am not able to speak for myself.

 

1.   Choice Not to Prolong Life

 

I do not want my life to be prolonged with life sustaining treatment if (a) I am permanently unconscious and, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, I will not regain consciousness; (b) I have an incurable or irreversible condition which is terminal, or (c) I have irreversible brain damage and will never regain the ability to make decisions and express my wishes.

 

Life sustaining treatment shall include, without limitation, intubation, use of ventilator, B-PAP or other breathing devices, tube feeding or parenteral nutrition, dialysis or any other measure that would keep me alive but would not cure me.

 

Permanent unconsciousness is when my physician and another physician are of the expert, considered opinion, after full examination of my case, that within a reasonable degree of medical certainty I can no longer think, feel, move, or be aware of being alive.

 

Terminal condition is when my physician and another physician are of the expert, considered opinion, after full examination of my case, that I have a condition that is incurable and irreversible and will result in my death within a relatively short time.

 

2.   My Directions

 

In circumstances such as those mentioned above, I shall not be subjected to any medical intervention or life sustaining treatment aimed at prolonging my life. I hereby direct that all such orders be placed in my medical record.

 

Any distressing symptoms occurring in the aforementioned circumstances shall be fully and aggressively controlled by appropriate palliative care, ordinary nursing care, analgesic or other treatments, even though some of these treatments may have secondary effect of shortening my life.

 

Giving intensive care to me is to be allowed only on the condition that reliable reasons exist for the possibility that such treatment will have a better result than merely short prolongation of life. In the event that a treatment with prospect of recovery has been started but proves to be futile, it has to be discontinued immediately.

 

 

 

3.   Health Care Proxy

 

I hereby appoint the following person as my health care proxy:

XXX"

 

I had this drawn up and notarized by Thai legal firm.

 

[NewGuy]

Thank you Sheryl! Can you recommend a Thai legal firm in Pattaya?

[Guavaman]

Here are links to the 2 sample living will formats developed by the Thailand Office of the National Health Commission:

 

English versions

https://www.thailivingwill.in.th/sites/default/files/Living_Will_Samples_1_2_Final_1.pdf

 

Thai versions matching the English versions

 

https://www.nationalhealth.or.th/th/node/4004

 ตัวอย่างหนังสือแสดงเจตนา แบบที่ 1 รูปแบบ DOC File

 ตัวอย่างหนังสือแสดงเจตนา แบบที่ 2 รูปแบบ DOC File

[NewGuy]

Thank you Guavaman. Using one of these forms will save a lot of agro. Would you choose form 1 or form 2?

 

Perhaps, it would be good for me to go to the lawyer’s office on Soi 13 Post Office. They would confirm the required Thai entries and provide two witnesses. My wife would be the primary signatory (after me, of course).

 

If anyone has suggestions, serious or dark humour, please contribute. All this medical terminology has me at a bit of a loss.

 

Thanks.

[Huayyai]

https://thai888.com/

We have used this company  for our living will.

View Talay, Jomtien

[NewGuy]

The Thai 888 site looks great. Thanks.

[NewGuy]

What is the address for Thai888?

[NewGuy]

What is the street address for Thai888? What building, on which street, office number etc?

[Sheryl]

It's in Google maps.  Soi 13 Tappraya Road. View Talay Condominums. 

[connda]

On 9/4/2024 at 12:55 PM, Sheryl said:

Even more important than the living will is to give someone a HealthCare Power of Attorney.

Do you know of any Thai legal agencies that can draw one up?

[connda]

On 9/4/2024 at 1:12 PM, NewGuy said:

Thank you Sheryl! Can you recommend a Thai legal firm in Pattaya?

Same in Chiang Mai.  The lawyer I've used in the past has upscaled and doesn't seem to want to do mundane things like this anymore.  So looking for a new law firm in the Chiang Mai area which could draw one up.  Both my wife and I created detailed Living Wills that are witnessed and notarized by the lawyer who drew it up (in Thai), but I overlooked a HealthCare Power of Attorney.

[NewGuy]

View Talay, good, but what number? I went the wrong one before.

[NewGuy]

It looks as though they are in View Talay 5D. We’ll Bolt there tomorrow.

[Huayyai]

[NewGuy]

So, much has happened. I went to com888 in View Tally 5D.  They were very easy to deal with. I spoke to the only lawyer there (a British guy) and the conversation was concise and informative. I went home to think about my choices and just a day or two later, after I printed out names & addresses of bank accounts here, my wife, my daughter and best friend in Canada who will be executors or my Toronto will, I returned.

 

I got a living will (which looked like the government one mentioned above) for 3,000 Baht and a Thai-only will where the legal firm will get my body back from the Thai Police in Bangkok, get two Thai bank accounts, in my name, to my wive, and the positive balance of a different Thai bank’s credit card, the account which holds double my credit card limits - if you've got one you know what I mean, and a small account. She just would not be able to do this stuff on her own, in her home country at least. The legal firm will do all this for 6,000 Baht. I’ve had friends retrieve a friends’ remain from the Bangkok boys in brown. It was a horrible experience for them.

 

I still have to deal with health issues but a great relief has cone my way over financial ones.

 

 

[NewGuy]

So, much has happened. I went to Thai888 in View Tally 5D.  They were very easy to deal with. I spoke to the only lawyer there (a British guy) and the conversation was concise and informative. I went home to think about my choices and just a day or two later, after I printed out names & addresses of bank accounts here, my wife, my daughter and best friend in Canada who will be executors or my Toronto will, I returned.

 

I got a living will (which looked like the government one mentioned above) for 3,000 Baht and a Thai-only will where the legal firm will get my body back from the Thai Police in Bangkok, get two Thai bank accounts, in my name, to my wive, and the positive balance of a different Thai bank’s credit card, the account which holds double my credit card limits - if you've got one you know what I mean, and a small account. She just would not be able to do this stuff on her own, in her home country at least. The legal firm will do all this for 6,000 Baht. I’ve had friends retrieve a friends’ remain from the Bangkok boys in brown. It was a horrible experience for them.

 

I still have to deal with health issues but a great relief has cone my way over financial ones.

 

 

[NewGuy]

Thai888 not com888. Sorry.

[PPMMUU]

In practice, the most important aspect of this is that the people around you know, understand, and agree with your living will, or at least accept it. Thai healthcare professionals often follow the wishes of those close to you at the time it happens.