Living Wills Decide Who Will Make Decisions When You Can't
What is a living will? A living will is simply a document which lets you decide whether or not to be kept on artificial life support or not. Every competent adult should have the right to make decisions concerning his or her own health, and that certainly includes the rights to choose or decline medical treatments. Many people are wondering what they need in the way of legal documents to make certain that, in the event of incapacity, their wishes are known and followed regarding potential end-of-life decisions. Advance directives are a set of documents that are used to lay out a clear chain of command to give decisions makers guidance as to the individual's wishes as they relate to the type of care desired in a crisis . It is a way to direct the decision maker about what an individual wants and does not want, should they be unable to make their wishes clear. A LIVING WILL IS AN ADVANCE DIRECTIVE Unlike Wills, which deal with matters after the death of a person, advance directives are usually put to use before a person dies, and they are critical part of the estate planning process. The three most common advance directives that are typically drafted are a power of attorney for financial decisions, a power of attorney for health care and a Living Will. A power of attorney for financial decisions names a person to handle financial matters on behalf of another individual. A financial power of attorney can be very broad in the power that it confers on an individual to make serious decisions regarding a principal's assets. A power of attorney for health care is similar in some ways to the power of attorney for financial decisions in that it also names a person to make decisions on behalf of someone else. When executing a power of attorney for health care, an individual answers several questions in an attempt to make clearly exactly what kind of treatment they want, based on their medical condition. A LIVING WILL AND A POWER OF ATTORNEY A Living Will, in some ways duplicates the information in the power of attorney for health care, but unlike the power of attorney, which can also cover situations in which a person may recover but needs someone to make their medical decisions for a time, a Living Will is simply a directive stating that an individual does not want "heroic measures" to keep them alive when there is no realistic prospect of any meaningful recovery. It is more important to give your loved ones the tools they need to deal with your incapacity (and even your passing) with the confidence that they are fulfilling your wishes.
About The Author Ivon T. Hughes of The Hughes Trustco Group is a licensed Insurance Broker. Author of The Life Insurance Handbook. Get a FREE Copy TODAY! Email: info@trustco.ca Web: http://www.hughestrustco.com
|
Living Will In A Nutshell...
Resources on Living Will
| How does a valid living will work? The living will gives your doctor permission to withhold or discontinue life support systems under two conditions. Under the first condition, you must be both terminally and incurably ill. Under the second condition, you must be diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state. If two doctors diagnose one of these conditions, your doctor may withhold or discontinue extraordinary medical treatment or artificial nutrition or hydration as directed by your living will. |