A Living Will Makes Tough Decisions Easier

living will form

When a terminal illness or end-stage condition makes you unable to direct your own end-of-life care, it will be up to your spouse, next of kin, or health-care surrogate to make those decisions for you. A living will makes tough decisions easier by guiding your loved ones’ choices for your healthcare. Communicating your wishes for your healthcare can make sure you receive the type of care you want in your last days, and give your loved ones permission to say goodbye if you wish it.

What is a Living Will

A Living Will – sometimes also called a Health Care Directive – is a document you prepare as part of your estate planning telling your doctors, hospital, and loved ones how you prefer to be treated if you become unable to make decisions for yourself or express your wishes. A living will describes the degree to which life-saving measures should be used and whether any specific treatment options should be withheld. To be valid, it must be signed by the patient and two witnesses. At least one witness cannot be the person’s spouse or blood relative.

A living will is different from a Last Will and Testament. A thorough estate plan will include both documents to control both what happens to you during your final illness, and your assets after your death. According to a 2020 Gallup poll, less than half of all U.S. adults have a living will. But by taking the time to write out this as part of your estate plan, you can make sure those responsible for your care can honor your wishes and ensure you receive the treatment following your beliefs and priorities.

How a Living Will Helps Your Health-Care Surrogate Honor Your Wishes

A living will does not determine who makes the decisions for you when you are unable to do so. Instead, your estate plan should also contain a healthcare surrogate designation, naming the person in charge of your healthcare decisions. If you haven’t designated someone as your healthcare surrogate (sometimes also called a medical power of attorney), your family may need to file a petition in the Florida probate court to have a guardian appointed to oversee your care. However, if you have not had extensive conversations with that person about your religious beliefs, treatment preferences, or existing medical condition, it may leave your health-care surrogate or guardian facing some tough decisions without clear instructions.

According to Florida state law, a living will goes into effect when you are incapacitated, meaning you are “physically or mentally unable to communicate a willful and knowing health care decision” and have either:

  • A terminal condition that will likely cause your death without medical treatment with no reasonable likelihood of recovery
  • An end-stage condition that is irreversible and for which medical treatment would be ineffective
  • Fallen into a persistent unconscious or vegetative state

At that point, your treating physician and at least one other consulting doctor must both agree that you aren’t reasonably likely to recover from your condition. Once they reach this agreement, this will become enforceable. However, even before that, your health-care surrogate or guardian can use the medical care wishes stated in your living will to guide their decisions for your end-of-life care.

Medical Care Decisions Included in a Living Will

A living will can describe the medical treatments that you do not want to be used to prolong your life. This can include a variety of medical treatments, such as:

  • Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and “Do Not Resuscitate” (DNR) Orders: Direct whether you want EMTs, doctors, and other treating professionals to take steps to restart your heart after it stops beating.
  • Ventilators and Feeding Tubes: Determine whether you want to be kept on life-sustaining treatment if you are in a persistent unconscious or vegetative state.
  • Dialysis, Chemotherapy, and Other Treatments: Control whether you are exposed to treatments with serious quality-of-life consequences, and for how long.
  • Stem Cell Treatments and Blood Transfusion: Avoid receiving treatments that you may have religious or moral objections to.
  • Antibiotic or Antiviral Treatments: Limit how aggressively the hospital treats infections during your end-of-life care
  • Pain Management and Palliative Care: Express your preferences for comfort care including in-home treatment and pain interventions.
  • Organ and Tissue Donation: Convey your wish to donate part or all of your body to treatment, scientific study, or education after your death.

You can change this at any time. Often, after people receive a terminal or chronic diagnosis, they will revisit their medical care decisions with the help of their doctor, laying out their preferences for common treatment options, along with these more general types of care. Clearly communicating these preferences through a living will ensures that you are not subjected to treatment you don’t want, or suffer more than you need to in your final days.

At Harrison Estate Law, we want to help you make honoring your wishes easy for your family and loved ones. We will be happy to meet with you to review your end-of-life wishes, crafting a living will that will explain what you do and don’t want to happen as you face your final days. Please contact us online or via email or call 352-559-9828 to schedule a free consultation. If you don’t live close to Gainesville, we are happy to set up a phone or Zoom call.

Categories: Estate Planning