What is a Living Will?
A Living Will informs your physician that you want to die naturally if you develop an illness or injury that is terminal or you are in a persistent vegetative state. It allows you to tell the physician what your medical treatment preferences would be in the event you are near death or in a persistent vegetative state. A Living Will allows you to refuse treatment or machines which keep your heart, lungs or kidneys functioning when they are unable to function on their own. You can relate your choices about feeding tubes and other life sustaining procedures in this document. A Living Will goes into effect only when two physicians, one of whom is your attending physician, agree in writing that you are either near death and are unable to understand or express your healthcare choices, or are in a persistent vegetative state that cannot be reversed. The implementation of a living will becomes the responsibility of your physician, not your family.
A living will is a legal document that tells others that you want to die naturally, should you become terminally ill or in a persistent vegetative state from which you will not recover. You can tell your physician whether or not to use treatments that would delay your dying, such as using a breathing machine (respirator) or giving you food and water through a tube (artificial nutrition or hydration).
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.
An advance medical directive or “living will” is separate from your Will, but may be an important part of your estate plan. It states that in the event you have a terminal, incurable medical condition and your life is only being prolonged by means of artificially provided life support, and if you cannot communicate your desires, the living will “speaks for you” so your doctors know and can act upon, your desires about medical life support. Once executed, the document is effective until you revoked it, which you may do at any time by physically destroying it or revoking it.
A living will is simply one type of advance directives. A living will gives specific or general instructions as to the kinds of care to provide or withhold, and the type of conditions in which it should apply. Some states have specific requirements for living wills to be valid; Arizona’s requirements are very simple.
