What Is Involved In Creating A Living Will?

As a probate attorney in Nashville, Tennessee with over 35 years of experience

, Ron Nevin explains that the best way to ensure that your wishes are known and honored is to create a living will. But what provisions should be included? That depends on you, says Nevin, and how you feel about various life-extending measures. A living will involves some very personal decisions.

No one likes to think about his own mortality, but planning for the inevitable is one of the greatest gifts you can give to your loved ones. While most of us establish elaborate plans for our estates after weve died, far fewer of us make our wishes clear with regard to what should happen if we become incapacitated and incapable of making our own health care decisions. By creating a living will, you will spare your family members and loved ones the responsibility of such emotionally difficult decisions and ensures that you wont be kept alive under circumstances you find objectionable.

Legal Document

Sometimes called an advance directive, a living will is a legal document intended to act as a guide for your family or other caregivers in the event that you become incapacitated and can no longer make health care decisions for yourself. Your living will, if you have one, will be used to determine which, if any, lifesaving measures should be undertaken if you become gravely ill or injured and your survival is in question.

A living will can also be used to outline your wishes with regard to organ and tissue donation. Many people feel strongly about allowing their organs and tissues to be used in transplants after theyve died, but surviving family members often have difficulty making these decisions on behalf of their incapacitated loved ones. Including your desire to be an organ or tissue donor in your living will is the perfect way to spare your family this difficult decision and ensure that your still-healthy tissues can be used to help improve someone elses life after youre gone.

Personal Decisions

What you choose to include in your living will will depend on your feelings about various life-saving and life-extending measures. These are very personal decisions. While your attorney can provide some scenarios for you to consider, you will ultimately need to ask yourself some hard questions about how you wish to be treated if you become incapacitated.

First of all, you should consider whether you would wish to be kept alive if it becomes clear that your quality of life cant be restored. If so, do you wish to establish certain parameters? For example, are you willing to be kept alive if your survival depends on permanent use of a respirator? What if its clear that youre in pain? Any number of scenarios may be included in your living will. Your attorney will help you to outline your instructions in such a way as to make sure that your wishes in each situation are crystal clear.

You may wish to include a do not resuscitate (DNR) order in your living will if you are terminally ill or very old. A DNR order instructs doctors and emergency personnel not to employ cardiopulmonary resuscitation or other life-saving techniques in the event that you stop breathing. Many people include DNR orders in their living wills because they want to be allowed to die peacefully and without artificial intervention when its their time to go.

In order for your living will to be valid, you must be at least 18 years of age and of sound mind at the time the document is created. For your living will to be legally binding, it must be properly prepared and executed, something you will want to hire an attorney to handle for you. Although there are some do-it-yourself templates out there, theres no way to be absolutely sure that your wishes will be honored unless youve hired an attorney to prepare your living will.

This article is for informational purposes only. You should not rely on this article as a legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances, and you should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. Publication of this article and your receipt of this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.

by: Ron Nevin

POST COMMENT

What You Should Know About A Living Will Your Living Will Is Important Florida Living Will Information How your Living Will Is a Power of Attorney Your Living Will is a Power of Attorney Guidelines In Making A Living Will Eat Well And Live Well Eat Well And Live Well For Your Heart You can live well on $10K per person per year, or less To Live Well, Eat Smart For Your Heart The Right Living Will Attorney Living Will How To Live Well: Eat Smart