Thanks Rosana for posting about my new blog….
The information is tailored for those living in the Lake Chapala area of Jalisco.  However, much of the information is relevant for any place in Mexico because of the discussion on the 5 Mexican states that offer durable powers of attorney and the Mexican federal legislation end-of-life health care designation and health care directives.
You can post a comment on the blog or email the author direction.
Buena suarte!  

Hi,

Thanks so much for this wonderfully written article on how
amazing retiring in Mexico can be. It’s such a great place to go that offers
quality of life and quality health care as well. Take a look at http://www.retireinnayarit.com, where I blog
about retirement in Mexico and the Riviera Nayarit. Check it out and feel free
to leave me your comments. Best wishes

 

@retireinnayarit

http://www.retireinnayarit.com

Never a dull moment!!
On August 1, 2011, new State of Jalisco legislation became effective.
The bulk of the legislation focuses on amendments to processes involved in obtaining ‘guardianship’ for a person who is declared mentally incompetent.  Guardianship has been part of the civil for some time.

What changed with this legislation is a brand new ‘durable’ power of attorney that previously did not exist.  Also, it is now possible for health care directives to be made that are legally binding.

What is still unclear is how broad the durable power of attorney is and what is possible with the health care directives.  The firm of Vargas and Espinosa Notarios indicated that the health care directives are just for ‘therapeutic’ (curative) type of care rather than palliative care, or end-of-life choices available in the Mexican federal end-of-life legislation.

For those interested, please check the website from time to time over the next few weeks to see what the findings are from the legal ‘folks’ who have been so gracious with their time in keeping the legal information on Life Planning in Jalisco as current as possible.

The Lake Chapala area’s English-language newspaper, the Guadalajara Reporter, September 17 – 23, 2011,  ran my article “Federal palliative care rights law more robust than new Jalisco bill.”    While the new State of Jalisco bill on ‘guardianship’ offers improvement in the process and a durable power of attorney that allows someone to name the ‘guardian’ in advance, the health care directives don’t offer what someone can get, including foreigners, from the Mexican federal legislation.  The federal legislation provides for patient’s rights for palliative and end-of-life care similar to what we have become used to in the US.  Currently, however, those rights are restricted to someone in a terminal situation with an expected less than six months.  That legislation was passed in 2008.

Roberto Espinosa, from the law firm of Vargas & Espinosa Notarios, was the primary source for the article.  Roberto is going to be my guest speaker lakeside in November presenting information on the new State of Jalisco legislation and the Mexican Federal Legislation.  More information will be posted as plans firm up!

The Lake Chapala Society (LCS) has a brand new link to their website.  They are now supporting local authors by posting their publications on-line.  Take a look.  If you are a local author, you are welcome to post on the website.
http://lakechapalasociety.org/test/Main/main_07_classified-books.phpCheers,Jalisco Susan
  

Living in the Lake Chapala Area?  

The “Book Store” in Plaza Bugambilias in Ajijic is now carrying the publication, Life Planning in Jalisco.    They are located tucked away at the end of the mall.

They are open 7 days a week and carry a large supply of English-language materials.

Susan

Life Planning
Presentation

Sponsored by Life
Planning in Jalisco

February 24, 2012, Lake
Chapala Society, Ajijic

 

Topics:

Mexican Federal
End-of-Life Legislation (2008)

Allowing you to designate one or more persons to act on your
behalf when you cannot for medical decisions and allowing you to make end-of-life
 ‘palliative’ health care
directives, and

 

Jalisco State Legislation
(2011)

Allowing a ‘limited durable power of attorney’ and
‘curative/therapeutic’ health care directives used in conjunction with the State’s
Tutor/Guardianship process.

 

Lead Speaker:

Roberto Espinosa,
Attorney and Partner

Law Firm of Vargas & Espinosa

Justo Sierra No 3022, Col. Vallarta San Lucas, Guadalajara, Tel.
36 15 56 26

http://www.notario113.com
and http://www.notario114.com

 

Mr. Espinosa presented on both topics and can be contacted
if there are specific questions or interest in further information on the State
of Jalisco Tutor/Guardianship process.   He speaks English.  Notario Vargas, from the same firm has experience and
background in working with both the federal and state legislation.  Vargas & Espinosa is a law firm of 20
staff, with 2 notarios, located off of Lopez Mateos in Guadalajara.  

 

Guest Speaker:

Ms. Ana Cecilia
Villanueva S., Attorney and Partner

Acosta & Associates, Abogada Corporative

Bajada de las Aquilas No. 1240, Colonia Lomas del Valle,
Guadalajara

Tel. 333 641 2774

 

Acosta & Associates are legal counsel for Puerta de
Hierro Hospital in Guadalajara.

Ms. Villanueva speaks English and can discuss with you what
health care directives are legally recognized and valid at the hospital whether
they come from Mexico or outside of Mexico.

 

Summary of Presentation

 

Mexican Federal end-of-life
legislation

The legislation allows you to designate one or more people
to act on your behalf if you become terminally ill and cannot act on your own
behalf in making medical decisions.

 

The legislation sets out health care directives for end-of-life
palliative care from which you can chose directives such as requesting hospice,
pain control, deny curative care and more.

 

The document must be in writing, dated, signed, plus signed
by two witnesses.

The person making the document must be mentally capable, over age 18.

If the patient is not mentally capable, the document can be
challenged.  The document cannot
request euthanasia or assisted suicide.

 

The health care directives for palliative care are only valid if the patient is determined to
have a terminal disease.  They
do not apply to non-terminal diseases or medical situations.

 

If the patient is diagnosed with a terminal situation, expected
to live 6 months or less, but lives longer, the health care directives for
palliative care remain valid.

 

The persons named to make medical decisions on your behalf
do not have to reside in Jalisco or in Mexico, but they do have to be present
at the hospital.

 

The document does not have a 5 year expiration, and remains
valid through any incapacitation.

 

The directives have to be honored by doctors, nurses,
hospitals and family.

 

 

Jalisco State Legislation
(2011)

Allows a ‘limited durable power of attorney’ and
‘curative/therapeutic’ (not palliative)
health care directives.  The health
care directives remain in place without any expiration date, unless changed by
the grantor.

 

The limited durable power of attorney is for ‘personal’
matters such as health care decisions. 
Unlike other powers of attorney in Jalisco, the ‘durability’ in this document
allows it to remain valid if the person making the document becomes mentally
incapacitated during the term of the document, and that this situation was
specifically stated in the text of the document.    

 

The limited durable power of attorney is intended for use
with the Tutor/ Guardianship process in which a person goes through a process
of being declared mentally incompetent. 
At the end of this process, a Tutor/Guardian is assigned.    The new legislation allows for a person to designate
someone in advance to act as Tutor/Guardian.

 

The Lake Chapala Society (LCS) has expanded their post-life program and brochure to what they are now calling, “Being Prepared For Life and Death Lakeside”.  While they are well-intended, the brochure is misleading and inaccurate.

They make little effort in separating the differences between Mexican federal law and Jalisco state law, especially on health care directives.  There are no legal citations so that someone could actually read the legislation for themselves.   They make no distinction between palliative care provided by the Mexican federal legislation and the very limited ‘curative or therapeutic’ directives allowed in a limited health care directive only for the purposes of the guardianship when a person is in the process of being declared by the State of Jalisco to be mentally incompetent.  It is also stated that “Health Care Directives require notarization”  when in fact the Mexican federal end-of-life legislation specifically states that only 2 witnesses need to sign the health care directive (I have verified this with two law firms in Guadalajara; Vargas and Espinosa and Ana Villanueva, Legal Counsel for Puerta de Hierro Hospital.  They, especially, are used to working with these health care directives and know what is required and what the hospital will recognize).It makes one wonder if anyone at LCS actually read the legislation before producing this brochure?In addition, they completely ignore the fact that those of us who have health care directives, durable powers of attorney (not available in Jalisco) can ‘import’ them based on the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (see Life Planning in Jalisco for the full reference).  In my case, my US documents were ‘apostilled’ in the state where they were made, brought to Jalisco and legally translated for use here.  My durable power of attorney, hard copy, sits in the file at my bank in Ajijic and my health care directives sit in a file ready to be used if ever needed.One other factor I find interesting.  LCS has a board member who is selling his services to write ‘health care directives’.  The LCS brochure seems to ‘slanted’ in his direction in that there aren’t many pages that don’t mention the ‘health care directive’ and ending up with all the contact information for this ‘consultant.’   Where I come from, this is a conflict of interest, but I guess not at LCS.If you go to the Life Planning in Jalisco website you will find sites to information on the MX federal legislation, website for legal information and writing your own health care directives and more…all free and in English.Life is Good….enjoy your day and give your dog a hug!