Thinking about your future today is one of the best things you can do for yourself and your loved ones. This is why more and more people are becoming concerned about creating a living will. This document plays a crucial role when it comes to a person with a terminal condition and the need for their relatives to decide on their life-sustaining procedures.
Even if it does not seem relevant right now, having the document in place might simplify a lot of difficult decisions that will need to be made later on down the road. How exactly? We will explain a bit further.
What is a Living Will?
A living will is a legal document that contains provisions regarding life-sustaining procedures when a person has a terminal condition. Among such conditions are a coma, dementia, vegetative state, Alzheimer’s disease, severe head trauma, etc.
The document is meant to give medical staff the instructions if the person is not able to provide it themselves due to having a terminal illness. With the help of this legal document, medical workers know whether or not to apply life-sustaining procedures. Basically, this document reflects whether or not you would want life support in cases where life support is critical to your survival.
The document might have different names in different states. For example, in Alabama, it is called an Advance Directive for Health Care; in Florida – a Living Will; in Missouri – a Health Care Directive; in Illinois – a Living Will Declaration; in Virginia – an Advance Medical Directive.
A person creating the document is called a principal or declarant. A person who might be assigned to make healthcare decisions on behalf of the principal is called a health care agent or health care proxy.
Living will vs. Last will
Oftentimes there is confusion regarding the differences between a living will and a last will. Some people think that these documents are the same, but they have some significant differences despite the similarity in their names.
This is a short version of the answer. A more detailed overview of the question is available in our separate article: Living Will vs. Last Will.
When it comes to living wills, the purpose of the document is to provide an instruction that outlines a person’s preferences on healthcare treatments that might be needed in the future if they are not able to communicate them themselves. This way medical personnel and relatives are aware of what decisions need to be made in case this person is in the last moments of life.
The purpose of the last will is different. A person might want to create it when they want to assign beneficiaries who will inherit their assets after they pass away.
This way, we can see that living wills and last wills serve their individual purposes and are used in different aspects of people’s lives. At the same time, both of them help make sure personal affairs are managed in a way a person wants.
If you have a question on your mind, “Do I need both a last will and a living will?”, the answer would be “Yes.” It is recommended to have both legal documents in place as both bring more clarity to your future in case of various, and quite often unpredictable, life circumstances. It is also a way to give your closest people peace of mind when they have to face tough times.
Living will vs. Health care power of attorney
These two documents both refer to advance directives and have some similarities. For example, both a living will and medical power of attorney let you choose who will be your health care agent (typically, a person you can trust).
The main difference between these documents lays in the scope of authorities. A living will concerns only medical care in case of a terminal illness. A healthcare power of attorney, in its turn, covers all types of medical care and is in effect only at a time when a principal cannot make medical decisions for themselves. A healthcare power of attorney might encompass end-of-life decisions as well.
Importance of a Living Will for Every Adult
There are at least 5 solid reasons why creating a living will makes a lot of sense:
1. Your doctors and health care surrogates will get guidance on what to do in case you need life support.
2. Your loved ones will get clarity on how to help you.
3. Your family members are much less likely to have disagreements regarding your end-of-life treatment.
4. Your close people will face less emotional burden at the time of your death.
5. You will get help that is consistent with your preferences.
Unfortunately, not all Americans understand the significance of having a living will. According to one research conducted in 2017, only 33% of U.S. adults have a health care directive in place. What does it mean for the other 67% of Americans? Essentially, they leave to chance the choice of people who will be making end-of-life decisions for them.
Some people might have concerns related to doctors not providing medical care for those who have a living will. However, there is no need to worry as a living will concerns only end-of-life care, meaning that patients who don’t have life-threatening conditions get their routine medical treatment.
How to Create and Use a Living Will?
Now when you may be considering creating a living will, you can find out more about where to start and what to include in the document. The process can generally be divided into four steps.
Step 1. Decide what treatment options you would want (if any)
First of all, you have to think about what medical decisions you want to be made for you when it pertains to end-of-life treatment. Just ask yourself: in one of these terminal conditions, would you prefer to apply all of the life-sustaining treatment to keep you alive as long as possible or rather die in peace?
You might make these decisions on your own or discuss them with your family members. By making a living will, you will make sure your loved ones know what your health care wishes are and what would be best for you in case of an unfortunate event.
A typical living will form will ask you to make your decisions regarding:
- Life-prolonging medical treatments in the event there is no probability of your survival
- Specifics of treatment you would want or not want (it includes dialysis, mechanical ventilation to assist with breathing, artificial hydration, nutrition, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR))
- Making an anatomical gift (it might authorize educational or medical institutions to use your body for scientific purposes or as a donor of tissues or organs)
- Palliative care (it will reflect whether you take invasive procedures such as morphine treatments right before your time of passing).
Step 2. Specify other end-of-life decisions
A living will can reflect some decisions other than the ones related to medical care. For example, if you are a religious person who wants some specific funeral plans to be carried out by your family, there is no better place to do that than in a living will.
Step 4. Designate a health care agent (if you want)
Along with decisions regarding life support, you might also want to assign a person who is authorized to make health care decisions for you when you are no longer able to make them on your own. The benefit of assigning someone as your health care proxy is that in a situation when it cannot be said for sure whether or not there is a chance for survival, the agent might argue the decisions made in a living will.
Step 5. Prepare the document
Every state has different laws and practices regarding advance healthcare directives, which makes it very important to do research on your state requirements before drafting one. Pay attention to whether or not you can use a state-prepared form or you need to write your own.
Even if your state does not offer a statutory form, don’t worry because our legal documents builder is a simple tool that will let you create a living will in about 10 minutes. Not only is it a hassle-free option, but it also lets you save money on hiring an estate planning attorney.
Step 6. Sign the form
A living will form needs to be properly signed in order to take effect. The important thing here is that signing requirements in various states differ.
- In Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Maine, and some other states two witnesses should attest to the moment of signing the legal document by the principal.
- In California, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Washington, etc. a notary public might be present at the moment of signing a living will instead of two witnesses.
- In some states such as Massachusetts and Michigan, there are no statutory requirements for who should attest the moment of signing, meaning the principal’s signature suffices.
- In North Carolina, South Carolina, and South Dakota, both notary public and two witnesses are required for a living will form to be signed properly.
If you are still hesitating about the need to create a living will, you are most likely in good health now and don’t plan to be diagnosed with a debilitating disease. As sad as it may be, there are many unforeseen circumstances in life. This is why wise people say, hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.