Grim Planning: Wills, Estates, Health Care Proxies …

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/05/opinion/letters/coronavirus-estate-planning.html

Version 0 of 1.

To the Editor:

“Doctors Are Writing Their Wills,” by Bari Weiss (Sunday Review, March 29), raises the important point that personal wills are so essential. Among other objectives that wills accomplish, and perhaps the most important, is the naming of guardians for our young children: who will do the parenting and safeguarding of assets if parents die prematurely. The fact that physicians are now seeking to name multiple substitute guardians — more backups than usual — is most telling.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has established an executive order that allows documents to be notarized remotely by video means. Competent estate-planning lawyers are now using this method to accomplish the proper execution of wills without the need for a meeting between lawyer and client.

Wills or codicils, which are amendments to existing wills, can now be signed in New York, and hopefully in many other states, without the need for an in-person meeting with a lawyer. This is a very good thing.

James K. RileyPearl River, N.Y.The writer is a lawyer and certified financial planner.

To the Editor:

Re “It’s Time to Talk About Death” (Sunday Review, March 29):

As someone who facilitates discussions and workshops about the end of life, I found Dr. Sunita Puri’s perspective about death to be accurate.

Only about a third of Americans have an advance directive, a legal document that details what medical care you would (or wouldn’t) want if you were too ill or injured to speak for yourself. Designating a health care proxy to carry out the directive (if needed) can create some peace of mind. We get to define what dignity means to us, and our loved ones have a guide to ensure — as much as possible — that our needs and wants are met.

Covid-19 has awakened many people to the reality and proximity of death. It’s a pertinent example of how changes to our health can happen unexpectedly. So much is out of our control, but we can shape our experience with illness and dying by planning ahead and making death a family conversation.

Sarah FarrSilver Spring, Md.The writer is founder and director of Death Positive DC.

To the Editor:

Re “Prostate Surgery, or ‘Active Surveillance’?,” by Jane E. Brody (Personal Health, March 3):

Some cancers are caught early enough that active surveillance is an appropriate treatment path. Prioritizing early detection is indisputable: 99 percent of men survive at least five years when prostate cancer is caught early.

Still, for those who receive a diagnosis of advanced disease, there are lifesaving treatments available, but not enough.

Funding from the federal Prostate Cancer Research Program has been secured at an all-time high of $110 million, thanks in part to the program’s success in creating lifesaving drugs and diagnostics. Yet more treatments are needed; in 2020 the number of men who will die from prostate cancer will hit a record high over the last two decades.

Ultimately, treatments aren’t a substitute for early detection. Around the country, legislation is popping up that would increase parity for prostate cancer screenings by increasing accessibility and affordability — for both the digital rectal exam and the prostate-specific-antigen test — by removing any cost-sharing fees like co-pays.

Call your local representative and advocate for saving men’s lives through early detection.

Jamie BearseAlexandria, Va.The writer is chief executive and president of ZERO: The End of Prostate Cancer.

To the Editor:

Re “Voting by Mail Gains Traction, but Challenges, and Skeptics, Are Many” (news article, March 20):

Voting by mail is hardly a “hot new idea,” but it is a good one — especially in the face of a pandemic. Given that the novel coronavirus has made in-person voting a public health risk for the foreseeable future, states need to put systems in place now to ensure safe elections.

Yes, there is time for states to make the necessary changes. They should act now to prepare universal emergency voting by mail, which would allow every registered voter to receive a ballot in the event that going to the polls is unsafe. That means setting up online voter registration and investing in expanded infrastructure for counting absentee ballots, among other changes.

Our democratic system relies on participation, even in deeply difficult times. Regardless of the state, the best solution to meet this challenge is the same: emergency universal vote by mail.

Joe ReadyBrooklynThe writer is director of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group’s Democracy for the People Campaign.