A living will details your wishes regarding the type of health care you want to receive in the event that you are no longer able to communicate them, due to accident or illness. A living will ensures that you still have a voice in your medical care when you are unconscious, or too ill to speak. Your living will comes into effect the moment you are incapacitated.
Step 1
Decide on the kinds of medical treatment that you would like to have, and those you would not like to have, in the event of an irreversible health crisis. For instance, if you become terminally ill or enter a persistent vegetative state, and do not want life-sustaining procedures administered, your wishes, as outlined in your living will, will be respected, says Living Trust Network.
Step 2
Share your wishes, and the details of your living will, with those who are close to you. Problems can arise when family members or significant others disagree about what your desires are, especially during the emotionally fraught time of an end-of-life decision. This is why, according to Barbara C. Phillips, MN, NP, these forms are so important.
Step 3
Draft a living will using a living will form, with help from your lawyer, or from your local hospital or health care provider. Living wills are also available from the Department of Veteran Affairs and the U.S. Living Will Registry.
Step 4
Formulate a health care power of attorney to accompany your living will, and appoint a surrogate to administer your living will. According to trusts and estates attorney Sandra M. Rodriguez-Diaz, the appointed person has the legal authority to make health care decisions for you, based on your wishes. Some states combine a living will and a health care power of attorney into one document known as an advance health care directive.
Step 5
Register your living will with the U.S. Living Will Registry. This allows any U.S. health care provider access to a copy of your living will, even if you become incapacitated away from home.
Step 6
Give copies of your living will to your health care providers, your surrogate, your lawyer, and your family. Speaking with family and health care providers in advance about end-of-life decisions not only avoids conflict later, but also provides peace of mind to those who care about you.
Tips and Warnings
- While it is not necessary to have an attorney create your living will, Rodriguez-Diaz recommends that you consult an attorney to make sure the living will is legally binding.
- Terminal illnesses and accidents can happen at any age. There's no such thing as too young to get your living will in order.
Things You'll Need
- A living will form
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