Five Wishes: An Accessible Advance Directive

   

You don't need a lawyer to create a comprehensive, legally-binding advance directive. And CSAs can make this resource a meaningful value-add for their business. 

It may be mid-January already, but it’s not too late to make a New Year’s resolution. As Senior Spirit reported this past summer, most Americans have not named a health care proxy–that is, the person they want to make health care decisions for them in the event that they can’t make them on their own. If you’re among that majority, resolve to fill out a Five Wishes® document this winter. And CSAs: once you’ve done it yourself, consider how your clients might appreciate a compassionate nudge to do the same.

Five Wishes is a 20-page booklet, available in print and as a digital document, that walks a person through the way they want to be treated if they become seriously ill. Five Wishes has been around since 1997, and today, there are more than 40 million copies in circulation in the U.S., in more than 30 languages. It’s widely praised, in part because it’s so easy for most people to use and understand. And, when completed correctly, it’s legally binding in 46 states.

The Five Wishes

The document is also generally accepted and loved because it leads with compassion and emotion. Before Five Wishes, advance directives were cold legal documents, but Five Wishes includes statements such as “I wish for my family and friends to look at my dying as a time of personal growth for everyone, including me. This will help me live a meaningful life in my final days.” The statements, written in first person throughout the document, can be acknowledged or crossed out by the person, depending on whether they agree with them or not. The Five Wishes are:  

• Wish 1: The Person I Want to Make Health Care Decisions for Me When I Can’t Make Them For Myself.
• Wish 2: My Wish for the Kind of Medical Treatment I Want or Don’t Want.
• Wish 3: My Wish for How Comfortable I Want to Be.
• Wish 4: My Wish for How I Want People to Treat Me.
• Wish 5: My Wish For What I Want My Loved Ones to Know.

Branding Five Wishes for Your Business Practice When ordering paper booklets, you have the option to promote your organization on the back panel. Five Wishes cites a number of reasons to do so.  The positive and compassionate messages reflect positively on your business.  Most promotional materials are used and discarded, but a Five Wishes booklet is kept and shared over years.  By distributing the booklets, especially along with counseling on how and why to use them, you’re providing a valuable service to clients.  To see samples and get a quote, see Custom Print at Five Wishes.

For each Wish, the booklet provides statements and space to expand and make specific requests. Even if the person doesn’t add anything, but simply marks off their preferences from the lists, the document will still provide valuable guidance to families and health care providers if it ever needs to be used.

Who is Five Wishes For? 

As a legally binding advance directive, Five Wishes is for seniors, of course, and their families and caregivers. But it’s also for adults of any age. Experts recommend that everyone name a healthcare proxy, and Five Wishes lets you record that person along with all the information that person would need in order to make decisions on your behalf with your best interests, and personal wishes, in mind.

Healthcare professionals also appreciate Five Wishes because it clearly defines their patients’ desires. Health and Human Resources Departments distribute Five Wishes to their employees as a form of employee wellness assistance. The organization that distributes Five Wishes, Aging with Dignity, states on their website that widespread use of advance directives can even help lower an organization’s healthcare costs. 

Important Legal Considerations

The document lays out a few important steps that must be followed, depending on your state, in order to make it legally binding. Here are some of them–see the document itself or Five Wishes FAQ for all the information you need.

• The document must be signed by the person. The person laying out their wishes must sign and date the document. If you don’t, or choose not to, the document still has value as a guide to your wishes for family and health care professionals–but it won’t supplant any existing advance directives you may have, unless signed.
• It must also be signed by two witnesses who are not related to the person. The two witnesses should not have any conflict of interest with the person, and in most states, that means they should not be related to the person by blood, marriage, or adoption; be a healthcare provider for the person; or be a beneficiary of their will or any other account. They should also be at least 18 years old (19 or 21 in some states). And in certain states, there are special witnessing rules for people who live in long-term care settings.
• In four states, the document must be notarized. Those states are Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, and West Virginia. In other states, it’s not necessary to notarize it.
• In some states, the person using the document has to take an extra step in order to make it legally binding. Those states are Kansas, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Texas. Other states (Michigan, North Dakota, and Wisconsin) require an addendum. Visit this page https://www.fivewishes.org/states/ on the Five Wishes website to find out more if you live in one of these states.

Filling out Five Wishes yourself is something you can do for your family and the future you. Providing it for your clients shows you care about them and their families’ well-being, too. What better way to start a new year?

Blog posting provided by Society of Certified Senior Advisors

www.csa.us

Celebrities are Caregivers, Too

   

As rewarding and essential as being a care partner is, the experience can also feel isolating and anonymous. Celebrity caregivers give voice to common joys and challenges. 

Bryan Cranston, of Breaking Bad fame, lost his mother to Alzheimer's disease twenty years ago. Cranston was moved by the care his mother received in her dedicated Alzheimer's community. “The caregiver is the unheralded hero of humanity,” Cranston said. “I revere caregivers as I do first responders.”

Earlier this year, Senior Spirit featured celebrities making a difference in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. This month, we’re looking to famous personalities to learn about their experiences as care partners for loved ones. 

Queen Latifah

The actress and musician, famous for her roles in Girls Trip and Bringing Down the House, has shared about the ups and downs of her caregiving experience. In 2018, she lost her mother, Rita Owens, to interstitial lung disease (ILD). In 2020, she appeared in a TV program on A&E, Beyond Breathless, about the disease, along with the New York Yankees’ Bernie Williams, who also lost a parent to ILD. 

Queen Latifah described her mom as “funny, stylish, fly, cool, and beautiful too.” During the time she was her mom’s caregiver, Queen Latifah said she was working a lot, and the strain was real. She prioritized taking time for herself by going for a walk, watching a sci-fi show, or getting her nails done. 

“We appreciated being able to be helpful to her, but we knew we had to be able to take care of ourselves too,” she told SELF magazine. “Because we’re in it: We’re in it with the people we love, and we want to have a positive outlook. We’re in for this fight, for them.”

Henry Winkler

“The Fonz” was a long-time caregiver. After Winkler’s mother suffered a stroke in 1987, he and his sister became her caregivers for the next 10 years until her death. As his mother was dealing with chronic pain due to limb spasticity, Winkler was there to ease her way. “My hat is off to caregivers. My respect is at full tilt for caregivers,” Winkler shared. “The dedication, the patience, just the wear of it all to consistently take care of somebody else—that’s a hero.” 

Taylor Swift

Superstar Taylor Swift was by her father’s side, along with her family, for weeks in the summer of 2025 after he underwent quadruple bypass surgery. “My brother, my mom and I were each taking shifts in the ICU and staying with him 24/7,” she told AARP. Once her father was able to return home, he needed a lot of new equipment to help him move around at home during his recovery. “I’m building his shower chair and his walker and his bed,” Taylor said. “It’s just surreal, man. We just all moved in with him the whole summer, pretty much.” She says he’s now doing very well.

Rob Lowe

In his thirties, actor Rob Lowe and his brothers cared for their mother through her stage 4 breast cancer diagnosis. He often felt overwhelmed dealing with medical paperwork and coordinating in-home care. Since then Lowe has made it a mission to raise awareness about the challenges caregivers face. He’s partnered with the nonprofit Embracing Carers to promote fair workplace policies for care partners, and has authored op-eds in U.S. Today and elsewhere. 

“When you’re caring for a loved one,” Lowe writes, “there’s nothing you won’t do (or sacrifice) to give them as much comfort and peace of mind as you can possibly provide. Often, that means you’ll skip your social obligations, wreck your diet, suffer sleep deprivation, and even risk your career, all to help a loved one through the most difficult time of their life.” Self-care and supportive networks are essential, he says, for individual care partners, the people they care for, and the whole community. 

Blog posting provided by Society of Certified Senior Advisors

www.csa.us

Famous & 65

     

Look who's turning 65 this month

Find out which celebrities are turning 65 this month!

January 12

This distinguished British stage and screen actor is widely regarded as one of the greatest classical performers of his generation; in fact, was knighted for his services to drama. A longtime mainstay of the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company, he has delivered acclaimed performances in roles ranging from Hamlet and Macbeth to Ariel in The Tempest. He earned a Tony Award for his tour-de-force performance in The Lehman Trilogy. You might recognize him from T.V. series such as Penny Dreadful, Vanity Fair, or, most recently, House of the Dragon. His film career has accelerated recently as he nears the traditional retirement age of 65–he appeared in two feature films in 2025, including Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, and has two more movies in post-production.

Answer: Who is…. (click here to reveal)? 

January 13

Anyone who has ever asked the person in the adjacent bathroom stall if they could “spare a square” knows whose birthday we’re talking about here. She achieved legendary status as Elaine on Seinfeld, where she has too many iconic moments to count as the slightly misanthropic but wholly relatable New Yorker. She later led the ensemble of The New Adventures of Old Christine, and then, in Veep, she starred as the caustic, ambitious Selina Meyer, Vice President. She’s won more Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Awards than any other actor. She received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2018 and, in 2021, the National Medal of Arts. In 2023, she started a podcast, Wiser Than Me, on which she interviews women older than her for their life perspectives and views on getting older. It was one of the top 3 podcasts in the U.S. in 2024.

Answer: Who is…. (click here to reveal)?

January 18

This legendary NHL forward had a 25-year hockey career. Beginning with the powerhouse Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s, he helped capture five Stanley Cups alongside a roster of future Hall of Famers, earning a reputation as one of the league’s most complete and competitive players. Later, he joined the New York Rangers and led the team to its first championship in 54 years. A six-time Stanley Cup champion, two-time Hart Trophy winner, and one of the highest scorers in NHL history, he was known for elevating both his own play and that of everyone around him. His son, Lyon, followed in his footsteps to become a celebrated NHL player in his own right.

Answer: Who is…. (click here to reveal)?

December 26

Two of hockey’s greatest-ever players were born just a few days apart. This Canadian hockey phenom is known for his uncanny vision on the ice and staggering career records. After breaking into the NHL as a teenager, he dominated the league with the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s (alongside his birthday month buddy above), capturing four Stanley Cups and redefining what offensive excellence looked like. Later stints with the Kings, Blues, and Rangers added to his legend. By the time he retired, he held more than 60 NHL records—including most career goals, assists, and points—many of which are considered untouchable. Nicknamed “The Great One,” he became the first player in NHL history to have his number, 99, retired league-wide. 

Answer: Who is…. (click here to reveal)?

Sources:

Wikipedia

Blog posting provided by Society of Certified Senior Advisors

www.csa.us