There are a few different types of wills that are used in the field of estate planning. Everyone is aware of the existence of the last will or last will and testament. This is a document that can be used to facilitate the future transfer of your monetary assets. In this post we will look at a different type of will called a living will.
Life Sustaining Medical Procedures
A living will is an advance directive for health care. With this type of will you state your wishes with regard to the utilization of life-sustaining measures. People sometimes become unable to communicate health care decisions. Physicians can keep people alive indefinitely in some cases, even when there is no hope of recovery. They use life-sustaining measures like artificial hydration, artificial nutrition, and mechanical respiration. In a living will you record your preferences with regard to the use of these measures. There are very compelling reasons to execute a living will, even if you are a younger adult. This is a very personal decision, and you probably have strong feelings about the way that you would want doctors to proceed. You can be certain that your own true wishes would be carried out if you state them in a living will. Your closest relative would be asked to make this life or death decision if you did not have a living will. This is an extremely difficult decision to make on behalf of another. There is also the matter of potential disagreements among your loved ones. The case of Terri Schiavo is frequently used to underscore the value of a living will on this level. A number of years ago Schiavo fell into a vegetative state while she was still in her 20s after suffering from cardiac arrest. She did not have a living will in place, and she was kept alive through the use of artificial hydration and nutrition. After she was in this state for around eight years, her husband wanted the tubes removed. Her parents disagreed, and a court battle ensued. All of the acrimony could have been avoided if Terri had executed a living will stating her wishes.
Additional Advance Directive
There is another advance directive that is often utilized called a durable power of attorney for health care or health care proxy. All possible medical scenarios are not going to be covered in the living will. With a durable power of attorney for health care, you empower someone to make medical decisions on your behalf if you become unable to make them for yourself.
Free Report on Living Wills To learn more about living wills, download our free special report on the subject. You can access the report through this link: Free Living Will Report.
