A Living Will is also known as a Personal Directive. It is a form of advance healthcare directive that conveys your wishes for medical treatment, medical procedures and life sustaining treatment that you receive if you are incapacitated and cannot express your wishes.
The Living Will is a document that is used in conjunction with the legally recognized Health Care Proxy document, and names an agent to make medical decisions on your behalf if you are not able to do so.
Living Wills are an important means of transmitting your wishes for medical treatment so the agent acting on your behalf can make important decisions about your healthcare.
You can use your Living Will to start conversations with your loved ones about your values and priorities in medical situations. You should be careful and specific when creating a Living Will and make the document with the guidance of an experienced estate planning attorney and in the presence of family members who understand the implications of your decisions.
The Living Will does not cover routine treatment and non-threatening conditions. It is there for decisions that directly impact the continuation of life and may prolong your life temporarily. It is a document that comes into play during critical healthcare emergencies and it empowers your health care agent to make the best decisions for you, upon a doctor’s determination of your incapacity.
In your Living Will, you can outline decisions regarding life-sustaining treatments, nutrition via intravenous devices (“tube feeding”), and how to act in situations where medical conditions leave you permanently unconscious and without detectable brain activity. It is important to understand your choices, as healthcare decisions can impact individuals living with certain health conditions in different ways. A Living Will may also have implications for your religious or philosophical beliefs.
At Amaral & Associates, P.C., we guide you through the process of creating this important document. The important details outlined in your Living Will, will be a guide to family members or people acting on your behalf during some of the most critical moments of your life or during end-of-life care.
