3 Reasons to Have a Living Will

A living Will is a crucial component of probate and estate planning. Also known as an advance healthcare directive, a living Will is a legal document that allows you to express your healthcare preferences in the unlikely event you cannot communicate or make decisions for yourself.

You never know what the future will hold. There may be a time when you no longer have the power to determine what happens to you medically or financially. Here are three reasons why a living Will is so important:

Ensuring Personal Healthcare Choices

A living Will helps you maintain control over your medical treatment and end-of-life care. Because it clearly articulates your healthcare wishes, an advance directive ensures that anyone treating or caring for you will respect your values, beliefs, and preferences. Even if or when you are unable to communicate them directly, a living Will can reinforce your healthcare choices in the following ways:

Medical Treatment Preferences: Through a living Will, you can specify the types of medical treatments and interventions you wish to receive or refuse in various scenarios. For example, you decide what you want regarding pain management or life-sustaining measures such as resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, and artificial nutrition and hydration.

Quality of Life Considerations: You should get to decide what quality of life means to you. Through a living Will, you can express the kinds or degrees of medical intervention you want to maintain your quality of life as you see it.

For instance, how aggressively do you want your medical providers to act to preserve your life? Do you consent to invasive, life-saving procedures? Are you willing to experience long-term care in specific settings? Do you want the withdrawal of treatment if you are in a permanent vegetative state or irreversible decline?

Relieving Burden on Loved Ones: A severe or life-changing medical condition is not only hard on you. It can be catastrophic for your family. A living Will reduces the emotional burden your family may otherwise sustain from carrying out difficult medical decisions.

In contrast, an advance directive provides clarity and guidance. It also brings peace of mind because your wishes will be apparent, reducing the potential for confusion and family conflicts.

Facilitating Healthcare Decision-Making

A living Will can simplify decisions for healthcare providers and family members caring for you. During a medical crisis or when you cannot communicate, having a living Will can add significant clarity to the decision-making process, especially for individuals with no medical training. Here’s how a living Will enables better healthcare choices on your behalf:

Legal Validity: A living Will that complies with relevant laws of your jurisdiction is a legally binding document. Therefore, healthcare providers and family members must honor the preferences you document, eliminating disputes about the best course of action.

Clear Guidance: A well-drafted living Will gives explicit instructions to healthcare professionals and family members, leaving virtually no room for debate or interpretation. The guidance outlined in the living Will helps prevent ambiguity or others’ attempts to interpret what you might want.

Reducing Conflict and Guilt: In the absence of a living Will, loved ones facing a difficult medical decision may be unsure how to act and then feel guilty several years later about whether they made the right choice. The precise language in the living Will helps mitigate conflict, uncertainty, and guilt among family members by providing a concrete decision-making framework.

Promoting Personal Autonomy and Dignity

Like most individuals, you probably want to live and die with dignity. A living Will is a powerful mechanism that helps you exercise your self-determination and protects your right to personal autonomy. It also ensures that your healthcare decisions reflect your own values and desires, which your caregivers and medical providers must respect. An advance directive helps you preserve the following:

Personal Values and Beliefs: A living Will allows you to align your medical treatment choices with your values, beliefs, and religious or cultural practices. It ensures that your healthcare decisions are consistent with your deeply held convictions.

Relief from Unwanted Interventions: Without a living Will, a well-intentioned provider or family member may authorize medical treatments you would otherwise refuse. Without the personal autonomy a living Will provides, you may undergo excessive suffering, discomfort, or even prolonged life in ways that could rob you of your dignity.

Emotional and Psychological Comfort: Creating a living Will provides peace of mind. You can look forward to the future knowing that those caring for you will respect your wishes, even when you can no longer speak for yourself. Also, you will spare your loved ones the burden and stress of difficult medical decisions. Your family can have emotional reassurance even during times of uncertainty.

Finding an Attorney Who Understands the Law Regarding Estate Plans

You may not expect to lose your medical decision-making power and autonomy in the near future. But if you do, a living Will can help you retain your dignity and assert your healthcare choices. This vital document ensures that your wishes are honored in challenging medical situations.

Incorporating a living Will into your estate planning is a responsible step toward safeguarding your healthcare preferences. The lawyers at Donnellon, Donnellon & Miller understand the legal issues in estate planning. They can help you craft a living Will that preserves your autonomy and protects your loved ones from unnecessary burdens and conflicts.