Living Will

What is a living will?

A living will is a legal document in which you can state which life-prolonging and saving measures you do or do not want. A living will allows you to express your desires or wants in writing to your doctors or essential medical providers in case you are not able to communicate to them directly. A living will allows you to plan on whether or not you will want to be on life support machines and when to terminate that care in the event of an illness or injury. A living will document is usually combined with a health care power of attorney, which in turn allows you to name someone to carry out your health care decisions you have made in the event that you become incapacitated. Together a living will and a health care power of attorney make up an advanced health care directive.

What are the benefits of a living will?

There are a few benefits of a living will that you will want to learn about to help you decide what is best for you and your loved ones. Having a living will will help to ease the strain for a loved one that will be entrusted to carry out these type of decisions for you. One benefit of having a living will in place is all medical professionals will know how to care for you if you become incapacitated. A living will helps to make it easier for the doctors to recommend the right kind of medical treatment according to the patient’s wishes and hopefully will reduce any conflicts amongst your loved ones who might not agree on the type of care that should be given. Another benefit of having a living will in place, is it can give you and your family a little peace of mind knowing that a living will was put in place. It is never easy to talk about these type of unplanned crises, however, it is better to know that everything has been discussed and decided by you, before you are incapacitated. Finally, the one last benefit of having a living will in place, is that you have maintained a sense of control in your life and you didn’t leave these types of decisions unattended to. A living will allows you to direct your own care up to the final moments and still be able to retain your independence.