What is a Living Will?
A living will is a document that states your wishes regarding the use of life-sustaining treatment of you should become terminally ill or permanently unconscious. A living will spells out whether or not you want life-support technology used to prolong your dying and gives doctors the authority to follow your instructions regarding the medical treatment you want under these conditions.
Sometimes called an Advance Medical Directive, a living will allows you to state your wishes in advance regarding what types of medical life support measures you prefer to have, or have withheld/withdrawn if you are in a terminal condition (without reasonable hope of recovery) and cannot express your wishes yourself. Oftentimes a living will is executed along with a Durable Power of Attorney for Health care, which gives someone legal authority to make your health care decisions when you are unable to do so yourself.
A living will is a written document in which you, as an adult who is now competent, can express your wishes regarding your future health care in the event that you are unable to make health care decisions. You can also include a statement of your preferences and desires regarding medical treatment with your living will, which can provide a useful resource for your treatment providers.
A living will, also known as a Directive to Physicians, allows a person to choose ahead of time whether or not life-sustaining treatments should be provided or continued if the person is physically unable to make a decision and is either in a terminal or irreversible condition. Life-sustaining treatments include: life support, artificial nutrition, antibiotics, etc. Having a living will ensures that you maintain control over your life and death health-care decisions and spares family members from having to make or fight over often impossible choices.
