The Living Will is an advanced medical directive. It deals with the treatment you may receive in the event of a life threatening medical condition. The Living Will allows you to make decisions about your medical care before a medical situation arises.
As medicine progressively improves in saving and prolonging our lives, there is an increasing chance that we will find ourselves in a situation when doctors will keep us alive for months when there is no chance that we ever recover. A living will is a document that contains our wishes about such situations.
Necessary steps
Talk the problem over with your friends and family.
This will help you in two ways:
1. You will have time to think the problem over and to make sure that you won’t regret your choices when it is too late to do anything about them.
2. If the case goes to court then you will have a legal document to prove your intentions.
Get a proper (your specific state’s) living will form and read it carefully. You may want to consult the details with your lawyer and a doctor. Remember that while the form is a great help, it does not cover every situation. If you have any additional wishes, you can put them in your living will even if they’re not in the form.
Differentiate between life-prolonging procedures and treatments that alleviate pain only. While the first can be seen by some religions as sins, there is no religion that should forbid painkillers.
Some Things to remember
Don’t forget to appoint someone to speak on your behalf when you will be unable to do so. And before you appoint him or her, check if they are going to say things you will agree with.
Give copies of your Living Will to your family members, friends and your lawyer. Also, keep one copy in your home medical file. The more copies there are, the lesser is the chance of losing the living will. It is especially important if you feel that your family does not share your opinion on life-prolonging procedures.
A Final word
Don’t spend too much time thinking about it. You can always change your Living Will, but as soon as you do alter your opinion on the subject, don’t hesitate and immediately change your living will. After all, we all hope it will never be needed, but what if it is. Do you want an outdated living will dispensing information that you no longer agree with?