28 Dec Ask Alice January 2022

ASK ALICE

Dear Alice,

Happy new year!

My New Year’s resolution for 2021 was to complete my advance directive (AD) and discuss my wishes with my agents and other loved ones.  And believe it or not, I did it!  It wasn’t easy, but I completed the last of the discussions with my family over Thanksgiving weekend, and then signed the AD and had it witnessed.

I just heard, however, that there is a registry for advance directives I didn’t know about.  This sounds like a great idea, so my resolution this year is to get my AD registered.  But I don’t know where to register it or how to go about it.  Can you tell me? 

Thanks,  Ready to Register     

Dear Ready to Register,

Congratulations!  You have definitely done the toughest part by completing your AD and discussing it with your loved ones.  Indeed, registration should be a piece of cake, especially if you are a Vermont resident.  And you are correct, it is a great idea to register your AD, since once it is registered it can be accessed by authorized health care facilities and providers anywhere.  Plus, the registry will remind you annually to think about your wishes and whether you need to update your document.  

So now that you’ve decided to register your AD, here’s the where and how of registration.  The Vermont Advance Directive Registry (VADR) is a secure online database available free for Vermonters.  All you have to do to register is send a copy of your signed and properly witnessed AD, along with a filled out and signed VADR Registration Agreement (no witnessing necessary) to the VADR.

How do you get a VADR Registration Agreement form?  You can get a Registration Agreement form by going to the forms section of the Vermont Ethics Network (VEN) website, at www.vtethicsnetwork.org/forms.  Scroll down a ways to click on “Vermont Advance Directive Registry (VADR): Forms and Submission Instructions.”   The Registration Agreement is a short and straightforward form, basically asking for contact information for you and your emergency contacts, and you can just print it and fill it out. 

And how do you get your AD and Registration Agreement to the VADR?  One way is to send the AD and Registration Agreement by regular mail to:

Vermont Advance Directive Registry

PO Box 2789

Westfield, NJ   07091-2789

Until recently, this was the only way to send the AD and Registration Agreement, and for many it will still be the most convenient way.  But it is now also possible to send them in electronically.  If you want to do this, you still need to go to the VEN website and print the Registration Agreement form, fill it in, and sign it.   Then you scan the Agreement and your AD; save them as a PDF file under your name and birth date, e.g., johnsmith05021966; and email them to the VADR at VADRSubmissions@uslwr.com.  For you as a new registrant, the email subject line should be: “Please Register.”  You can also find all these instructions on the VEN website forms section, just below the Agreement form itself.

As I suggested above, for many people it will be easier just to mail the AD and Registration Agreement.  Or if computers, printing, and filling out forms is just not your thing at all, you can give us a call at Taking Steps Brattleboro, 802-257-0775, and our volunteers can walk you through the whole process.

Note:  The discussion above focuses on registration for Vermont residents.  But even if you are not a Vermont resident, you can register for a reasonable fee – $59.95 for five years, and then $25 for an additional five years.  The registration process is very similar, but instead of registering with the VADR, you are registering with the national US Living Will Registry (also known now as the US Advance Care Plan Registry), of which the VADR is a part.  Go to their website, www.usacpr.net, purchase a registration, and it will direct you through the registration process.

I hope this helps.  And we all wish you a happy and healthy new year!  

Best wishes,   Alice    

Please contact Ruth Nangeroni, Taking Steps Brattleboro Coordinator, 802-257-0775, ext. 101, or ruth.nangeroni@brattleborohospice.org, for information about Advance Care Planning.

Till next month, folks.  Please send your questions to Alice via info@brattleborohospice.org.