Living Wills Make Final Wishes Known
A living will is a legal document that tells your family, doctor, or other medical personnel what kind of treatment you want if you become too sick to make decisions yourself. This type of document is called an advance directive.
A living will tells them what they should do if a person can't speak for themselves and for example has an injury or illness that could lead to death. This can be longstanding and permanent mental illness such as Alzheimer's disease or a brain injury from a car accident. Without clear instructions on your wishes, doctors may have to make life-or-death decisions about your care without knowing whether you would want life support in certain cases.
Living wills are documents that clearly declare the type of care you want to receive if you are unable to make your own decisions for yourself. This may include everything from artificial nutrition and hydration to the use of life-sustaining devices.
This document is a legally binding directive on how you want your loved ones and medical providers to act in certain situations. You can designate that you do not want life sustaining treatments, such as CPR, if you are unable to speak for yourself. You can also limit the types of treatment that may be given if it conflicts with your personal beliefs or religious practices. For example, some people do not want their body donated for medical research after they die.
A living will can also designate someone as a healthcare proxy, who can speak for you if you are unable to make decisions. This person can have the same power as a health care agent. A proxy also has the power to make medical decisions for you if you become incapacitated and don't have a health care agent. Both of these documents may be combined into one document, which is known as a health care directive or advance directive.
Avoid confusion about your wishes regarding your treatment in case of incapacity by having such an advance directive incorporated into your will. If you don't have a will at all, then state law may decide how your property should be divided and who should make medical decisions for you if you are incapacitated.
In most cases, you can make a living will without the help of a lawyer. However, if you have specific questions about your rights or someone else's rights, you may want to consult with a lawyer. A person who has been designated as a proxy can make decisions for you when you are unable to do so.
If there are no oral or implied instructions on your behalf, then doctors and family members may not always know what course of action to take in certain situations. For example, if someone is agitated and confused after suffering an injury or illness that causes memory loss, physicians will be unsure whether this patient would want treatment that could cause more memory loss or even death. If you have already made a living will or advance directive, then you will avoid these situations by clearly telling people what to do if you are unable to speak for yourself.
If someone has told them what they should do, then doctors and family members can act according to your wishes. This can be particularly effective if there is no known cause of death or if the family does not want someone declared brain-dead. Physicians may err on the side of caution by making end-of-life decisions rather than risk a lawsuit for overstepping their legal authority.
If a person has a living will, then he or she will be able to give clear instructions about whether the patient would want CPR or not. This would help physicians make decisions that are in line with the patient's wishes. This can prevent potential lawsuits and create peace of mind for everyone involved. Doctors and family members may have to endure hard choices when it comes to end-of-life decisions. Having a living will helps you in avoiding these situations by giving them guidance in difficult times.
A living will can protect your rights when you become incapacitated by providing instructions about what should be done if you are unable to speak for yourself after an accident or serious injury. This will also protect you and your family from potential lawsuits by keeping your medical decisions from being made on the basis of lack of information.
As a last resort, in some cases, physicians will act as if a living will has been executed. This is known as cardiac-standby in medicine and is the appropriate course of action when there is no written document stating otherwise. A living will can be incorporated into a person's estate plan to specify who should make medical decisions during the patient's final days or hours before death. If you create a living will that designates doctors as the decision makers in case of incompetency, then they may ask for judicial intervention to enforce it if necessary.
If you have any questions about your living will, or if you are concerned that a health care provider will not follow your instructions, then you should contact a lawyer who has expertise in estate planning and advance directives. Since the law can be unclear about whether or not certain medical treatments are allowed under certain situations, most doctors try to follow the wishes of those who have written documents regarding their treatment.
A living will can be especially important if you want to ensure that doctors follow your wishes in order to avoid a possible lawsuit. This may be especially important if you have a living will, but the loss of mental capacity is not medically apparent.
When you are incapacitated, doctors can make end-of-life decisions for you that you would not want to make. For example, when a person has had a heart attack and is conscious yet confused, doctors might administer CPR to try to revive him or her. A living will can be used to prevent such medical treatments that would not be in line with your wishes and protect your estate from being divided between people who are acting on behalf of the patient rather than the patient's wishes.
What is a Living Will and How Does it Work?
A living will is a medical device that allows you to specify your treatment preferences. You can use this document to choose whether or not you would want to be resuscitated, such as in the case of a heart attack, or if you would want a feeding tube if you are unable to eat food independently for yourself. You might also state whether you would be willing to endure any procedures that may cause more pain or suffering. This document can give your family and doctors clear instructions about what should be done as well as protect your estate from being divided up amongst people who may not know what you would have wanted. A living will does have limitations, however.
Conclusion
While a living will can be a helpful tool, it does not offer the same protection as an advance healthcare directive. The latter is much more comprehensive and lets you specify what you want done in various situations ranging from how to handle your body to how you want your medical bills paid. This document should be customized to fit your specific needs and development and estate planning attorney can help you.
The information presented here is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter. Laws are constantly changing, and thus the information may not be current. You should contact an attorney or conduct your own legal research to verify the state law(s) that may apply to this topic.