What is a Living Will?
A living will is a legal document that a person uses to make known his or her wishes regarding life prolonging medical treatments. It can also be referred to as an advance directive, health care directive, or a physician’s directive. A living will should not be confused with a living trust, which is a mechanism for holding and distributing a person’s assets to avoid probate. It is important to have a living will as it informs your health care providers and your family about your desires for medical treatment in the event you are not able to speak for yourself. The requirements for a living will vary by state so you may want to have a lawyer prepare your living will. Many lawyers who practice in the area of estate planning include a living will and a health care power of attorney in their package of estate planning documents. If you need to write or update a will or trust, you can take care of your living will at the same time. Generally, a living will describes certain life prolonging
Living wills are documents that give instructions regarding treatment if the individual becomes terminally ill or is in a persistent vegetative state and is unable to communicate his or her own instructions. The living will states under what conditions life-sustaining treatment should be terminated. If an individual would like to avoid life-sustaining treatment when it would be hopeless, he or she needs to draw up a living will. Like a health care proxy, a living will takes effect only upon a person’s incapacity. But a living will is not necessarily a substitute for a health care proxy or broader medical directive. It simply dictates the withdrawal of life support in instances of terminal illness, coma or a vegetative state.
A Living Will is a written declaration authorizing the termination of life support or other medical procedures in the event you reach a point where said services are deemed to be of no value to sustaining your life or the quality of life that you desire. The exact text of the Living Will is set forth in the Florida Statutes.
