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Page 16 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, July 31, 2026 Sa Sa a Say y Senior enior Sen by Jim Miller How to Make Sure Your End-of-Life Wishes Are Followed Dear Savvy Senior, I had a living will/advance directive prepared about 10 years ago documenting my end-of-life medical wishes, but I’ve read that these documents are often ignored. What can you tell me about this? --Troubled Tina Dear Tina, Yes, unfortunately, that can happen. Living wills aren’t always followed in practice, most often because the document isn’t available when it’s needed or never reaches the right people in time. They can also fall short because they aren’t medical orders, and the language may be too vague to guide doctors in an emergency. That doesn’t mean your wishes won’t be honored, but it does mean a little extra planning can help prevent confusion later. Here’s how to make sure your wishes are followed. Advance directive + POLST About 40 percent of older Americans have an advance directive. This typically includes a living will that spells out the care you want if you become incapacitated, and a health care power of attorney (or proxy) who is authorized to make decisions on your behalf. To strengthen those instructions, talk with your doctor about completing a POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) – sometimes called MOLST or POST depending on your state. Unlike a living will, this is a doctor-signed medical order that must be followed by EMTs and hospital staff . It translates your wishes into clear instructions for treatments such as CPR, breathing machines, and feeding tubes. These interventions can save lives but may also cause harm if you are very ill or frail. Discussing them ahead of time helps you weigh the trade-off s and makes it easier for your family to understand your choices, easing stress if decisions must be made quickly. Even if you already have an advance directive, adding a POLST can make your wishes clearer. Without one, fi rst responders are generally required to attempt resuscitation and transport you to a hospital, where doctors may pursue aggressive treatment if your living will isn’t available or specifi c enough. Once your POLST is completed, make sure it is easy to fi nd. Keep a copy on the refrigerator, carry one in your wallet, and save a photo on your phone. Share copies with your health care proxy, family members, and physicians so everyone is aligned. It’s also wise to ask your providers to add the form to your electronic health record, since medical information isn’t always shared between hospitals and care facilities. These steps can make a real diff erence in helping ensure your wishes are followed. If discussing these issues with family feels difficult, websites like The Conversation Project (theconversationproject.org) and Prepare for Your Care (prepareforyourcare.org) off er helpful guidance. One final note: if you’re planning surgery, you may want to temporarily suspend your POLST in case your heart stops briefl y during the procedure. And if you haven’t yet created an advance directive, you can do so for free at caringinfo.org or mydirectives. com, or for a small fee – $5 to $7.50 – at fi vewishes.org. Taking these steps now can help ensure your wishes are followed and ease the burden on your loved ones later. Send your questions or comments to questions@ savvysenior.org, or to Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070. nr ior BEACON | FROM PAGE 14 lows abortions past 24 weeks with no requirement of medical justifi cation, meaning abortions could be performed at full term, just days before natural birth, for any reason or no reason at all. While abortion proponents argue that late-term abortions are rare, expanding this barbaric practice does serious damage to our society’s moral foundation. “The good intentions of this bill’s sponsors are gravely misplaced,” said Myrna Maloney Flynn, the president of Massachusetts Citizens for Life “As written, their abortion-up-to-birth bill permits one provider — not even a physician — to subjectively decide that any unborn infant can be killed, even babies capable of surviving outside the womb and feeling pain within it. Just as concerning is the fact that the bill endangers women, since late-term abortions are far more complex and carry greater risk. Yet legislators want to allow these abortions outside of hospitals. Women experiencing unimaginable, heart wrenching pregnancy complications absolutely deserve all the support they need, but that support is not what this bill provides. Instead, this bill increases risks to women’s safety, allows gruesome violence against unborn children and grows abortion industry profi ts via taxpayer-funded late-term procedures.” Rep. Kelly Pease (R-Westfi eld) said he was blindsided by the legislation and called abortion a “terrible thing.” “I think most of our caucus was [blindsided]. It’s like, where did this come from? I don’t see how I’m going to be in favor of a bill that allows babies over six months to be terminated when they’re probably viable outside the womb, unless there’s extenuating circumstances, and this kind of just takes away some of the safeguards that were in place before.” (A “Yes” vote is for the bill. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. Joseph McGonagle Yes EXEMPT INCOME FROM OVERTIME AND TIPS FROM THE INCOME TAX (S 3178) Senate 7-32, rejected an amendment that would exempt from the state’s 5% income tax, up to $12,500 of income from overtime and up to $25,000 of income from tips, Amendment sponsor Sen. Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton) said his amendment will put more money back in the pockets of hardworking individuals including restaurant workers, construction workers and countless other individuals who are doing everything right. He said they are working overtime, picking up extra shifts, relying on tips and yet they feel like they’re falling further behind because the cost of living has exploded and housing prices have climbed beyond the reach of many fi rsttime homeowners. He noted that tipped workers earn their income by providing excellent service and putting in long hours and argued that if you work more, you should keep more of what you earn. Sen. Mike Rodrigues (D-Westport) said that this amendment is responding to something real because service workers face the same cost of living pressures as every other resident in the state and deserve a break. But he added that the Senate should not be adopting this amendment at this time because there are serious unanswered questions like what separates voluntary overtime from mandatory overtime and how are tipped pools treated? He noted that the Legislature has already created better ways to help workers by increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit to 40 percent of the federal credit, expanding the child and family tax credit and raising the senior circuit tax break. “It’s unfortunate Massachusetts lawmakers did not give this tax cut to working people,” said Paul Craney, executive director of the Mass Fiscal Alliance. “Many retail workers benefit largely from tips and exempting the state income tax to their tips which mean a fi ve percent raise for many retail workers. The Massachusetts state Senate missed a great opportunity to help keep more money in the pockets of working people.” (A “Yes” vote is for the amendment exempting some overtime and tips income from the income tax. A “No” vote is against the exemption.) Sen. Sal DiDomenico No DEATH TAX/ESTATE TAX (S 3178) Senate 5-34, rejected an amendment that would abolish the tax that the estates of people who die are required to pay following their death, before the money is distributed to any benefi ciary. Current law only exempts the fi rst $2 million and then imposes the tax on the remainder based on a graduated rate schedule ranging from 7.2% for estates just over $2 million to 16% for estates over $10 million. Most Republicans are against this tax and coined the name “death tax” to imply that the government taxes you even after you die. Most Democrats support the tax and call it an “estate tax” to imply that this tax is only paid by the wealthy. Amendment supporters said this regressive tax is unfair and noted that Massachusetts is losing many residents who move to other states where this tax does not exist. They noted it is not fair to tax this money when a person dies because the person already paid taxes on it when he or she was alive. Amendment opponents said the state cannot aff ord the loss in revenue which would be hundreds of millions of dollars. They noted that recently the Legislature approved and the governor signed into law a bill that increased from $1 million to $2 million the amount of money that is tax exempt from this tax. (A “Yes” vote is for the amendment abolishing the tax. A “No” vote is against abolishing it.) Sen. Sal DiDomenico No CHAPTER 62F – CHANGE WHAT TRIGGERS A REFUND TO TAXPAYERS (S 3178) Senate 31-8 approved an amendment that would change the conditions under which a current law (known as 62F), approved by voters on the 1986 ballot, is triggered. That law requires that annual tax revenue above a certain amount collected by the state go back to the taxpayers. The amendment would only allow the law to be triggered if “the net state tax revenues in the fi scal year are less than 7.5 per cent of the total statewide personal income for the calendar year ending in the fi scal year as determined by the Bureau of Economic Analysis in the United States Department of Commerce.” “Our modern-day economy is completely different from what it was back in 1986 when BEACON | SEE PAGE 17

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