The Pirate Hunter returns to the Simpsonville Sentinel stable of excellent writers and contributors.

Editor's note: When Rick first started with the Sentinel he was leading an armed security team of other Army Green Berets and Navy Seals protecting commercial ships like cargo and oil tankers from Somali pirates around Africa, India and the Middle East. After 2 1/2 years he was known as the "Pirate Hunter"! 

Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes following the passing of my beautiful wife Debby in November, and your kind comments to the editor requesting that my column continue. 

If any of you can relate to the loss of a spouse or family member, I am sure you can understand how much your life can change in the blink of an eye. Of the many lessons I have learned the hard way during the past few months, my eyes have been opened to yet another way we should protect our families, that many people never consider. Simply summed up, Advanced Directives.

Advanced Directives can take several forms depending on which state you live in, but the basic premise is that specific documents are prepared in advance so that in the event that you cannot make medical decisions on your own, someone that you have identified can make them for you. Debby and I received some excellent advice a few years ago from a trusted family member, to prepare our Wills, Durable Power of Attorney, and Medical Power of Attorney. I cannot tell you how important these individual documents were when our life was turned upside down and inside out. Properly prepared, they can provide structure and protection during the most horrible time of your life when your brain can focus on only one thing, and you can barely breathe.  These documents can also help you control your finances and assets, hopefully keeping them out of Probate Court and the delays that would bring.

A Living Will outlines the specific medical treatments that you prefer, such as life-sustaining measures related to feeding tubes, ventilators, etc. Sometimes a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) can also be used, as well as a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care (POA).  There are degrees of care that you can choose from application of simple first aid, like Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) to more advanced Defibrillator Paddles to restart the heart. I would encourage you to get the best advice possible from an attorney based on your medical preferences. Both spouses should complete these documents.

A Standard Will or Last Will and Testament, explains how you want your assets to be distributed after death. This document can outline guardians for minor children and even pets. Beneficiaries are typically designated, as well as an Executor to carry out the Will. Specific items that you want passed to family members can be identified. 

The Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA) is another legal document that gives your designated person the power to make decisions that could include many issues such as financial, legal or medical.  This person you choose can be a spouse, another family member, or trusted friend. In the document they are usually referred to as your agent or attorney-in-fact. Get as many legal copies as you can, we used it often, and copies don’t always suffice.

Another word of advice which an attorney can flush out in more detail is to have your large assets, like vehicles, property and even bank accounts in both names. This again can serve as a protection from the complications of probate court.

A final thought is that this information is not limited to spouses. A friend recently lost his son unexpectedly, a young athlete, and he had no life insurance on him. Whoever thinks they will lose a child?

I hope this information will encourage you to begin looking at these documents, whether you are single or married, and at any stage of life. Once the tragedy hits, it is too late.

In closing, a note to the men: Hold onto and cherish your wives, and don’t let go.

Thank you all.●