Planning for Tomorrow: A Guide on How to Write a Living Will

Imagine being in a critical medical situation caused by a terminal illness or severe injury, where you can’t voice your treatment preferences. Without clear guidance, decisions about your care may not align with your wishes.

What’s more, the uncertainty and stress can be overwhelming for your loved ones. 

A living will is a document that allows incapacitated patients to communicate their wishes. It outlines your medical treatment preferences in advance, ensuring your healthcare choices are respected, even when you can’t actively express them.

Learn how to write a living will and take control of your future healthcare today.

What Is a Living Will?

The definition of a living will is a legal document that explains your preferences for medical treatment if you become too sick or injured to communicate.

Unlike other advance directives, like healthcare proxies (someone you trust to make medical decisions for you) or durable power of attorney (a person with the authority to handle your medical and sometimes financial decisions) a living will focuses specifically on your end-of-life care.

It’s important to understand clearly the difference between a final will and testament and a living will. Despite the somewhat similar names, the final will deals with your estate and not your healthcare.

Understanding what a living will is and how it differs from other directives can help make sure your medical and estate plans are clearly outlined and communicated.

Read on to learn how to create a living will to protect your healthcare choices.

What Medical Decisions Are Covered in a Living Will

A living will covers a variety of decisions to outline your healthcare preferences in various scenarios when one might be unable to communicate due to severe medical conditions.

The most common examples of what a living will include:

• Life-sustaining treatment — Decisions about the use of ventilators, dialysis, and other machines that help keep you alive when you’re unable to breathe or function independently. For example, if you’re in a coma with no reasonable chance of recovery, a living will can specify whether you want to continue these treatments.
• Resuscitation (CPR) — You can decide whether or not you want to be resuscitated if your heart stops. This can be crucial in cases of severe cardiac events or when you are already in a critical and irreversible condition.
• Tube feeding and hydration — A living will can specify preferences for receiving food and water through a tube if you’re unable to eat or drink. This is often relevant in cases of severe brain injury or neurodegenerative diseases where swallowing becomes impossible.
• Pain management and comfort care — This includes decisions about the use of pain relief medications and other measures to keep you comfortable, even if they might hasten death. This is particularly important in terminal illnesses where the focus shifts to quality of life rather than prolonging it.

By setting up a living will, you can provide specific guidance on these and other medical decisions that could affect your final days. You should communicate your wishes with your health proxies. They must understand the reasoning behind such decisions in order to carry them out and protect your desires without lingering doubts.

How to Write a Living Will

When deciding when and how to make a living will, begin by reflecting on your values, beliefs, and priorities regarding medical treatment and end-of-life care. Many value quality of life over aggressive medical interventions that may prolong our time on Earth but render us largely incapacitated.

Religious or spiritual considerations could also guide your decisions about treatments like resuscitation or life support.

Other points to consider include:

• Consult with your doctor — They can provide medical insight to help align your living will with your health needs and values.
• Seek legal advice — To guarantee your document complies with local laws and covers all necessary aspects of your medical care preferences.
• Regularly updating your living will — Especially after major life events like divorce, marriage, or a serious diagnosis, ensures it accurately reflects your current wishes and values.
• Online help — There are ways to make a living will without a lawyer. Local hospitals, your physician, hospice centers, or law firms have the necessary forms, either online or printed out. These forms typically allow you to specify preferences for treatments such as ventilators or tube feeding based on your beliefs and priorities.

This proactive approach provides clarity to healthcare providers and loved ones, preparing them for critical times.

How to Sign a Living Will

A living will must meet specific legal requirements to be valid. It is essential to check local laws to confirm the validity of digital signatures for such documents.

Typically, you must sign the document in the presence of witnesses who are not beneficiaries or healthcare providers involved in your care. A living will does need to be notarized in some jurisdictions for additional legal assurance.

In some places, digital signatures are acceptable for living wills, provided they meet certain electronic signature standards and are legally recognized in your region.

Communicating the contents of your living will with those closest to you is crucial. This way they understand your wishes and can advocate for them effectively if the need arises.

Open discussions can help minimize confusion or resistance, ensuring your healthcare preferences are respected when you are unable to express them yourself.

Is a Living Will Enough?

A living will addresses specific medical treatment preferences if you’re unable to communicate, but other advance directive documents are also important.

Here are the main differences between a medical directive and a living will:

• An advance directive is a broader term encompassing legal documents that outline healthcare preferences and appoint someone to make medical decisions if you’re unable to. They are useful for any situation of the kind, not only for end-of-life care.
• Medical directive and advance directive are terms that are often used interchangeably, but the former may refer more generally to the instructions and documents related to healthcare decision-making, including but not limited to the specific components of an advance directive.
• A living will is a document that specifies your preferences for end-of-life care and specific interventions you want or don’t want, such as resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, and tube feeding.

Understanding the differences between these documents, as well as knowing the difference between a springing POA vs durable POA, will help you plan for all eventualities.

What Are POLST/MOLST Forms

POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) or MOLST (Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) forms are medical orders that translate a patient’s preferences for life-sustaining treatments into actionable directives.

Unlike traditional advance directives or living wills, this paperwork is actionable immediately and travels with the patient across different healthcare settings.

Healthcare providers must respect the patient’s wishes regarding CPR, intubation, and other medical interventions, particularly in emergencies or critical care scenarios.

Conclusion

Creating a living will is crucial for carrying out your medical wishes if you cannot communicate them yourself.

• Start by assessing your healthcare preferences in detail.
• Choose a trusted healthcare agent who understands your values and preferences.
• Sign and have the document properly witnessed according to legal requirements.
• Tell those closest to you about your preferences and where the living will is.

Taking these steps provides clarity and peace of mind for yourself and your loved ones during challenging times. Take action today to prioritize your healthcare planning by understanding how to write a living will and actually do it.