What is a Do Not Resuscitate Order and What does it Mean?

          Estate Planning generally is accepted to refer to planning for an end game, the end of life and what happens to your property.  However, it is more than that, and involves more than a Will.  One of the directives ordinarily discussed during estate planning with an attorney is “Do Not Resuscitate Orders”, also known as DNR Orders.

            When a person chooses a DNR Order they are saying they do not wish to have cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) performed. In Ohio, the Ohio Department of Health has provided for two standardized DNR orders for the end of life.  A DNR Comfort Care Arrest Order will receive all medical treatment needed until the patient’s heart stops or their breathing stops.  At this time, only comfort care will be provided, and not resuscitation.  However, up to that time even resuscitation is provided. 

            A second type of DNR order is known as a DNR-CC (Do Not Resuscitate Comfort Care Order).  This allows the physicians and nurses to provide additional measures to provide comfort care before the heart or breathing stops.  This is also sometimes referred to as palliative care and steps needed to add to the patient’s comfort are performed.  A DNR-CC Order allows ongoing treatment for these purposes.

            It is useful to note that not everyone wants CPR, though it does save lives.  It is frequently not successful, or it may allow a degeneration in life quality for those who receive it by leaving them with painful side effects and/or brain damage.

            Emergency squads and similar health care professionals are required to provide CPR, unless the patient expressly refuses.  This assumes the patient is able to refuse.   A discussion with your physician can resolve your concerns about whether you do or do not want CPR, and if you choose to not have it, then the physician should select a standard Ohio DNR identification form, which is required to be honored by paramedics and other health care workers. The Ohio Department of Health has the form at www.odh.ohio.gov.

            Also, you can designate a DNR Order through your Living Will, or in your Health Care Directive.  Where you are receiving active care, the DNR Order should be part of the medical chart.  If a doctor writes the DNR order, then no one can override the order. If you change your mind, the DNR order can be revoked, but you should cancel the order made on the Living Will or in discussions with your health care attorneys in fact under the Health Care Directives, and the best policy is to re-execute any written instructions so as to eliminate the order.

            A Living Will only takes effect, however, if you are in a terminal condition or a permanently unconscious state, and since emergency personnel will not make this determination for all intents and purposes they will not effect the DNR in a Living Will.  If you wish to avoid CPR, your doctor’s completion of a standard Ohio DNR identification form is the most reliable way to prepare for the unexpected if you wish not to have CPR.

            The information contained in this entry is general and should not be applied to specific legal problems without first consulting an attorney.

© Copyrighted by Bale and Associates, Ltd. 592 Office Parkway, Suite B, Westerville, Ohio 43082.  Phone (614) 895-5600.  All Rights Reserved. January 12, 2015.

LLC – Ltd – Ltd. – LTD – L.L.C. – Limited Limited Liability Companies in Ohio

A popular form of doing business in various parts of the world is a Limited Liability Company (“LLC”).  These companies are formed in Ohio by filing “Articles of Organization” for a Limited Liability Company” with the Ohio Secretary of State.  The State of Ohio charges a small fee to file the company, and it provides the form for creation of the company. The form to file is provided by the Ohio Secretary of State is the only form permitted to be filed to create the company.  It can be found online at http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/Businesses.aspx .

The form for creating the organization looks simple, and it is.  However, filing is only a start, and while it can be and is often done without counsel, there are preparatory steps that should precede the filing, and steps that should coincide and follow up filing. Often these steps should be addressed by counsel and an accountant to address business plans to enhance the chance of the business’s success.

What is an LLC, and how limited is its Limited Liability?

As described by the Ohio Secretary of State online, a limited liability company is “a form of business organization characterized by limited liability, management by members or managers, and limitations on the transferability of ownership interest.  A limited liability company may be formed as a nonprofit or for-profit business type.”

This is accurate as far as it goes, but does not provide much hard information.  There are many forms of business that provide ‘limited liability’.  For example, corporations, limited liability partnerships, limited partnerships, certain business trusts, etc., provide limited liability.  The primary distinction between these forms of business is the manner of control over the business, investment risks and tax treatment.  The advantage of the limited liability company form for small businesses is that the form allows for a great deal of flexibility in these areas of control, investment and tax treatment.  This flexible form of doing business can be adapted to various terms for operations over time to accommodate changes in the business.   Also, operating agreements can be struck among the investors as to how new shares or interests in the company are issued, and all of this can be done without a great deal of formality.  These agreements are entitled ‘Operating Agreements’.  

An important first step to filing for a certain type of business entity is to know what kind of entity should be filed.  This requires a clear understanding of the investors, business management, risks and goals of the business and capitalization requirements.

An Ohio LLC is often used as a business form for small companies that want to do business without a lot of special operating requirements, such as meetings, minutes, elections, etc., and that do not have special capitalization requirements.   It is very flexible, as a business form, but there are a variety of ways to add complexity to this form to perform the goals for the business.  Often people that use this form find that they can adapt to new challenges in business organization as it evolves.

However, as far as limited liability goes, the smaller an organization is, the less likely that the work of the organization will be conducted by hired help who are not owners. Consequently, where the owners are directly involved in the work of the company, the owner may have tort liability to outsiders for mistakes in completing the work.   An example of this is poor building construction that results in an injury to a person.  

Where work is performed by an owner, he or she may have personal liability that is unlimited for that work even though the work was performed under contract with their LLC.  Consequently, limited liability under this scenario can be a misnomer and a false sense of security may arise without understanding the legal relationships and risk exposure to the owner(s) performing the LLC’s work.

The information contained in this entry is general and should not be applied to specific legal problems without first consulting an attorney. 

© Copyrighted by Bale and Associates, Ltd. 592 Office Parkway, Suite B, Westerville, Ohio 43082.  Phone (614) 895-5600.  All Rights Reserved. January 12, 2015.