Living Wills, sometimes called
Advanced Directives are legal documents accepted in all 50 states. They clearly define a person's wish to decline life-support or medical treatment in certain circumstances, usually when death is imminent. Generally, a living will takes effect when a person becomes terminally ill, permanently unconscious or conscious with irreversible brain damage.
A living will also allows a person to state with particularity the forms of treatment which are wanted and not wanted. For example, if one doesn't want artificial life support, then signing the living will stating that desire covers this. It is also important to discuss your beliefs and wishes with you family, spouse and other people whose opinions you respect, such as clergy, physicians, attorney or an accountant.
Living wills are recognized in every state, but each state has different requirements. To help ensure that the living will be honored, give copies to family members, physicians, lawyer and other involved in caring for the person's welfare.
Federal law now requires most health care facilities (hospitals, nursing homes, HMOs and home health agencies) to ask patients if they have a living will or would like to complete one.
Can Medical Care Legally Be Stopped If There Is NO Living Will? When there is no written document, a spouse or close family member may still request that treatment be withheld if the patient cannot do so, but the request could be denied. The way state and health care providers handle such cases varies widely. Typically, a doctor or hospital representative will meet with a person's family to discuss what that person's wishes were. In some cases a health care facility may want to withhold or provide life support against a family's wishes. In some cases a formal hearing may be held to determine how to proceed.
How to Make a Living Will
The rules for preparing a living will vary from state. Some states require that the document be signed with the same formalities required for execution of a will, but many state recognize the effectiveness of more informal declarations.
Generally a living will:
Should Be in Writing.
Should Be Signed and Dated.
Should Be Signed Voluntarily
Should State Specific Treatments
It is evidence of the patient's wish, and it is the patient's wish that has legal force, not the document. Living wills cannot request euthanasia or unreasonable treatment. Living wills, once activated, should ensure that your physician and the medical facility uphold your health care treatment beliefs and wishes. Your family or your physician cannot revoke them; your living will can only be revoked orally by you or by court acting on your behalf. With a living will, you maintain control over your end-of-life decisions. If your wishes are explicitly stated in your living will, your doctor and your family should not be able to supersede them. As long as your wishes are known, they should be respected.
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