Your Voice, Your Choice – 10 Steps to a Living Will

KEY POINTS

• Essential Preparation

  Your medical wishes are paramount in today's dynamic and ever-changing healthcare landscape. In this guide, we'll illustrate how to draft a living will, its purpose, key roles, and how to communicate your intentions to your loved ones.

• Understanding Living Wills

  A living will is a legal document that outlines your medical preferences when you cannot communicate. It ensures your healthcare decisions are adhered to while easing the burden on family.

• Living Will vs. Traditional Will

  A living will distinguishes itself from a traditional will, and our guide clarifies their distinct purposes.

Living Will Essentials

A living will is a key component of your estate planning process.

In today's rapidly changing healthcare landscape, ensuring that your medical wishes are respected is of paramount importance.

Picture this: a well-thought-out plan that guarantees your preferences for medical treatment are honored, even when you can't communicate them yourself.

Surprisingly, a significant portion of adults in the United States and the developed world have yet to discover this essential aspect of personal healthcare planning.

In this comprehensive guide, we'll navigate you through the process of creating a living will, shedding light on its purpose, the key individuals involved, and providing a step-by-step roadmap to empower you to take control of your healthcare decisions.

What is a Living Will and Its Purpose?

A living will is a legal document that clearly delineates your desires for medical treatment and care when you become incapable of communicating or making decisions due to illness or incapacitation.

Its primary purpose is to ensure that your healthcare decisions are upheld and followed. This can provide peace of mind while relieving your family and friends from of the unenviable task of making tough decisions during emotionally stressful circumstances.

It may also be referred to as an advance healthcare directive, personal directive, advance directive, medical directive, and more. Terms may vary by jurisdiction.

Living Will vs. Traditional Will

A living will goes beyond a traditional legal will, which primarily address the distribution of assets, by focusing solely on your medical treatment preferences and end-of-life care. The following chart compares these two legal instruments.

	Will	Living Will
Purpose	Distribution of assets after of death	Medical treatment and healthcare decisions in case of incapacity or inability
Appointee	Executor	Power of Attorney
Appointee Role	Carry out the instructions in the will and manage the estate	Make medical decisions on behalf of the individual if they become incapacitated or unable to make the decisions themselves
Instructions	Specifies how assets (e.g., money, investments, real estate, possessions) are to be distributed among beneficiaries	Outlines preferences for medical treatments (e.g., life support, artificial nutrition, resuscitation)
Guardianship	Designates a guardian for minor children, if applicable	Focuses on healthcare decisions, not guardianship
Funeral and Burial	May include preferences for funeral arrangements and burial or cremation instructions	Primarily addresses medical treatment preferences. May include preferences for organ donation.
Contingencies	May include provisions for specific situations (e.g., beneficiary predeceases person creating the will)	Focus on healthcare decisions and preferences
Witnesses	Requires witnesses for validity (number and qualifications may vary by jurisdiction)	Requires witnesses for validity (number and qualifications may vary by jurisdiction)
Revocability	Can be revoked and updated while mentally competent	Can typically be revoked or updated while mentally competent

Individuals Appointed in a Living Will

Typically, the following individuals are appointed in a living will.

Principal

The person crafting the living will is known as the principal. They are responsible for articulating their medical desires with clarity, setting the cornerstone for all decisions detailed within the legal document.

Healthcare Proxy or Agent

This is the person you designate to act as your representative for medical choices in situations where you cannot make them yourself. Your healthcare proxy should be a person you have complete trust in, who comprehends your values and preferences regarding medical care, and is ready to champion your wishes.

Alternate Healthcare Proxy or Agent

We recommend that you designate an alternate healthcare proxy. Life can change unexpectedly, and your primary proxy may be unavailable or unwilling to fulfill the role when the time comes. Like your primary healthcare proxy, this person should also be well-informed about your preferences.

10 Steps to Creating a Living Will

Crafting a living will can be emotionally challenging, as it involves making decisions that may not align with the expectations of loved ones. To ease this process, we suggest breaking it into manageable steps. This approach reduces stress and maintains focus, ensuring a systematic and less daunting journey through these important choices.

1.       Self-Reflection

Start by reflecting on your core values, deeply held beliefs, and personal preferences regarding medical treatment. Delve into your individual convictions about the meaning of a good quality of life and what measures you deem acceptable in medical care.

Consider various hypothetical scenarios, including those involving life support, resuscitation, and organ donation. These scenarios often encompass some of the most complex and emotionally charged decisions in healthcare.

By considering how you would like each of these situations to be handled in accordance with your values and preferences, you lay the foundation for a living will that accurately represents your desires and provides crucial guidance to your healthcare proxy and medical professionals.

2.      Research Legal Requirements

Research the laws governing living wills in your jurisdiction, as these requirements can differ. Ensure your document complies with local legal standards to ensure its validity and alignment with your healthcare wishes. Stay updated on any legal changes in your jurisdiction to maintain the accuracy of your living will over time.

3.      Conflicts of Interest

Conflicts of interest surrounding a living will often stem from complex emotional family dynamics, financial interests, divergent religious or ethical beliefs, the personal convictions of healthcare proxies, external pressures, and potential ambiguities within the document.

These conflicts may present themselves when family members hold differing views on medical treatments, financial motivations influence decisions, or personal beliefs clash with stated preferences.

To address these challenges, initiate transparent discussions, choose a trustworthy proxy, seek legal guidance, and document decisions clearly to minimize conflicts affecting your healthcare choices.

4.      Choose Your Healthcare Proxy

Choosing the right healthcare proxy or agent is essential. This person should be someone you trust deeply and who understands your medical care preferences. Engage in open conversations with them to ensure they fully grasp your intentions and are comfortable fulfilling this role. Establishing a strong connection with your healthcare proxy is vital, as they will advocate for your choices when you cannot.

5.      Partner Consultation

Initiate Discussions

Now that your healthcare proxy has been chosen, it's essential to initiate discussions with your partner and children about this important decision. These conversations are crucial to ensure that everyone is on the same page regarding the responsibilities and preferences of your selected healthcare proxy.

Time Commitment

Be prepared to allocate a significant amount of time to these conversations, as addressing concerns may require patience and an extended timeline.

Family and Friends' Input

At an appropriate point, consider involving other family members and friends in these discussions. Their insights and perspectives can provide valuable input into the suitability and capabilities of your chosen healthcare proxy.

Consult Trusted Advisors

Additionally, consider consulting with mentors or advisors who can offer objective opinions and insights regarding your healthcare proxy selection. Their input can further solidify your decision and provide valuable guidance.

6.      Draft Your Living Will

When drafting a living will, you have a few options that can help ensure your wishes are accurately and legally documented.

Lawyer

To begin, you have the option of seeking counsel from an attorney who specializes in healthcare directives and advance care planning. An attorney possesses the expertise to offer valuable guidance, address your legal inquiries, and verify that your living will adheres to the precise legal requirements of your jurisdiction.

Moreover, legal professionals can assist you in contemplating any distinctive situations or medical scenarios that you wish to include in your document, ensuring that it encompasses all essential elements and aligns with your specific preferences and circumstances.

Living Will Template

Alternatively, for a budget-conscious approach, you have the option to utilize a reliable living will template. These templates are readily accessible and are frequently furnished by healthcare institutions, state or provincial health departments, or reputable legal websites. It is imperative, however, to verify that the chosen template aligns with the legal requirements of your jurisdiction to ensure its validity and applicability.

Regardless of which method you choose, your living will should be comprehensive and clearly articulate your preferences for medical treatment and care. It should cover various scenarios, such as life support, resuscitation, organ donation, and end-of-life care, providing specific instructions for each situation.

As noted above, be sure to involve your chosen healthcare proxy or agent in the process, discussing your decisions with them to ensure they fully understand your wishes and can advocate for you effectively in the future.

7.      Finalization

To formalize your living will, it's essential to sign and date it in accordance with the legal requirements in your jurisdiction, which often necessitate the presence of witnesses.

Ensure that the individuals you choose as witnesses do not have any financial interest as beneficiaries in your will, and they should also not have any familial or professional ties to your healthcare team.

This precautionary step guarantees the legality and impartiality of your living will, ensuring that your healthcare decisions are honored without any potential conflicts of interest.

8.      Distribute and Discuss

Distribute copies of your living will to multiple key parties involved in your healthcare, including your designated healthcare proxy, alternate proxy, immediate family members, and your primary care physician. This dissemination ensures that your healthcare preferences are well-documented and readily accessible when needed.

Subsequently, foster open discussions about your living will with your healthcare team during routine medical appointments. It's imperative to confirm that your living will is formally documented in your medical records to provide clear and unambiguous guidance for any future treatment decisions.

This proactive approach helps ensure that your medical wishes are upheld and respected throughout your healthcare journey.

9.      Review and Update

Regularly review your living will, particularly following significant life events or alterations in your health status. Ensure that you update it as needed to accurately mirror your present healthcare preferences and circumstances.

This proactive approach will help ensure that your living will remains a reliable and up-to-date representation of your wishes, and that your medical choices are consistently honored.

10.      Emergency Contact Information

Create a readily accessible list containing emergency contact details for your healthcare proxy, alternate proxy, and immediate family members.

Having this information readily available ensures that healthcare providers can swiftly reach out to the right individuals in case of urgent medical situations, facilitating the timely implementation of your healthcare preferences.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Healthcare environments are always in a constant state of change. This makes it imperative that you establish a living will to safeguard your healthcare preferences when you cannot express them.

This comprehensive guide provides the tools to navigate this process, encompassing the selection of a healthcare proxy and the creation of a precise and legally sound document. Regular revisions and transparent discussions contribute to maintaining its accuracy, while an emergency contact list guarantees a swift response in critical situations.