Living Will Is An Answer To A Problem
It is an issue that a large number of people face and the percentage is only going to grow as the average life expectancy increases. The question then becomes, what should you do with your assets and children? A living will is an answer to this problem that empowers you to decide what care you want before something happens.
Know Your Rights - If you sign a living will, it means that you are giving up any rights to medical treatment. You may not want unwanted or invasive treatment but still want to receive treatments for pain relief, which are different than lifesaving treatments.
What To Include - In the living will, you should include your willingness to accept life-saving treatment, your advanced directives, your desire to be kept on a respirator if necessary and the fact you want your decision to be followed without question.
Living Will vs. Advance Directives - Make sure you know what type of advance directive you are writing before signing one. An advance directive is not just a living will but it can include information about forms of payment, funeral arrangements and more.
From the Lawyers at TopLawyers : [QUOTATION] "As an attorney for almost two decades I would recommend that my clients come to me with regard to wills/living wills/advanced directives. As you prepare your estate and your loved ones for the future, they need to understand that their wishes need to be followed."
There is a considerable grey area with living wills. The ambiguous wording has led to an increase in uncertainty over the role of law, right and biology in ensuring people's wishes are followed. As a result, there has been a huge increase in the number of cases heard by the court in recent years.
As these growing numbers of court cases show, living will disputes can be highly controversial, with many taking on a religious or moral dimension. This makes it all the more important to follow the situation very carefully before drawing up your living will.
Issues surrounding living wills sometimes lead to litigation, with representatives of the deceased often making a very public case for their client's case. The following cases are examples of this occurring:
A Living Will, or "Living Will" as it is sometimes called, is a legal document used in many cases to enable adults to make decisions concerning their medical treatment in the event that they become incapacitated and unable or unwilling to make those decisions on their own. Living Wills typically allow patients or patients' loved ones to determine how they would like their life-prolonging medical treatments such as artificial nutrition and hydration (dying on a breathing machine, cardiopulmonary resuscitation), be handled if they become incapacitated. Decisions can be made by patients (or their appointed agents) who are able to make medical decisions for themselves but who want to have their wishes for their medical care recorded in the event that they become unable to make those decisions.
The use of living wills is a means for individuals to be in control of end-of-life decisions in the event that they no longer can decide on their own. The law supports the patient's right to refuse life-saving medical treatments and interventions and provides a legal framework for implementing these decisions when necessary.
While there are many people who voice strong arguments against living wills, it is important to remember that the use of a living will is strictly voluntary.
Living wills are not legally binding. The Patient's Living Will Act allows the patients to instruct a medical professional or a person of his or her choice to make decisions regarding his or her medical care if he/she becomes incapable.
A Living Will is a legal document that allows an individual to express wishes relating to his or her life-prolonging medical treatment in the event that he or she becomes unable to make those decisions for themselves. Courts across the country have ruled on various aspects of living will laws, including capping the number of people who may bring actions based on living will provisions in states such as Massachusetts and California. In those two states, a patient may only have their living will count as an advance directive if they have written it with two doctors, three different attorneys or a minister.
Living wills are most often used by terminally ill patients who want to specify the course of treatment they would like under certain conditions and then have that decision made for them in the event that they become too incapacitated to make decisions themselves. In other cases, living wills can be used by people who simply don't want doctors to decide on matters of their medical care. A living will is not legally binding and can be changed at any time.
There are various reasons why a person would choose to sign a living will. Some people do not trust modern medicine or physicians and have decided to take matters into their own hands. Others want to protect their families from having to make decisions that they feel would be too difficult for them ultimately resulting in the patient's death. Others still are simply trying to keep costs down for life-prolonging medical treatments that they may not want at the end of their lives but think that their family should decide on when and if they need them.
Some people may feel that a living will is contradictory because it allows someone who is unable to decide for themselves what kind of medical treatment they want or do not want at the end of their lives. If the living will is signed by an adult who is not incapacitated then it does not seem to be a contradiction. In the event that a person would be unable to decide on their own, then they have entrusted someone else with the choice of medical treatment for them.
People tend to feel that a living will allows their end-of-life care decisions to be made without involving them. They feel as though they would like to make these decisions themselves and do not want anyone else choosing or commenting on what they think should be done. These people typically feel that although they may not be able to make these decisions for themselves when the time comes, they should have the opportunity to make them beforehand. It is a very personal family decision and one that people will decide in various ways.
The State of Montana allows patients to specify what kind of life-saving measures or treatments they would like applied to them in certain situations in the event that they can no longer do so. These types of directives are usually referred to as Living Wills. The authorization for these types of directives is only available with a doctor's order. The authorization to write a living will comes from the Montana Supreme Court, allowing patients to decide on medical treatment matters.
A Living Will is a document that gives instructions to doctors in the event that an individual becomes incapacitated and unable to make decisions about their medical care. Living Wills are used by many people who have no family members or friends who they trust enough to make decisions concerning their end-of-life care. They feel it is their right to decide on these matters for themselves by following this form of directive if they cannot do so for themselves at the time that they become incapacitated.
Conclusion
It is important to remember that Living Wills are not legally binding and are completely up to the discretion of the individual. They can be made verbally and should always be kept in a safe place, where they cannot be lost for their author. Living Wills should also be updated as conditions change, such as adding a spouse or significant other's name. The general consensus is that it is often best to include a complete list of all potential care-givers as well as people who could be inheritors in the event that something were to happen to the patient.