Everyone over 18 should fill out an advance care medical directive, which we used to call a halachic living will, which legally gives the authority to someone named in the document to make health care decisions in case someone cannot make their own health care decisions.  Included in this section are advance care directives, often called health care proxies, for many states.  We also often receive requests for help in situations where health care facilities are not accommodating the health care wishes of a patient and the patient’s family, and sometimes about cases where there is a dispute within a family over what medical care to provide to a family member.  For these situations, Agudath Israel helped create Chayim Aruchim, an organization dedicated to helping 24/7 with these types of issues. For more information or further resources, please visit Chayim Aruchim or call 718-278-2446 for their 24-hour hotline.

To download the Medical Directive for your state, please click on the correct link below.

We sometimes receive calls regarding cremation, where someone Jewish has died and someone involved seeks to cremate the body rather than arrange for a proper Jewish burial. In some cases, someone involved seeks to bury the body in a non-Jewish cemetery, or in some other way that is contrary to halacha. Unless the decedent left clear legally binding instructions as to who should be in charge of his or her remains, each state has laws dictating who has that responsibility, which can sometimes be helpful in enabling those seeking a proper Jewish burial to prevail.  Here is a very useful summary of the relevant statutes.

Here are amicus briefs, court decisions, and other information about important patient’s rights, health care, and end of life matters we have been involved with.