What is a Living Will?

A living will is a document that sets out your wishes for medical treatment if you become unable to make decisions yourself. This can include specifying whether or not you want to be kept on life support, or have an organ donation. It’s important to have a living will in case something happens and you’re unable to communicate your wishes yourself. You can also appoint someone to make decisions for you if needed. Having a living will can help ensure that your wishes are followed and that you receive the best possible care.

A living will can communicate what life-sustaining measures you want to be taken, such as:

1. Resuscitation – the action of making something active or vigorous again.
2. Ventilation – the process of involving a machine for breathing for a patient who cannot breathe on their own.
3. Artificial Nutrition and Hydration – the process of being fed through tubes.
4. Organ Donation – the act of donating organs to be used in transplantation surgery.
5. Burial or Cremation – the process of disposing of a body after death.
6. Preference for Pain Management – the request for pain medication or other measures to manage pain during end-of-life care.

What are the advantages of having a living will?

There are many advantages to having a living will, including ensuring that your wishes are followed in the event of a health emergency, protecting you and your loved ones from unnecessary stress and confusion, and giving you more control over your medical care.

One of the key advantages of having a living will is that it ensures that your wishes are followed in the event of a serious medical emergency, such as a stroke or heart attack. This is important because even if you have expressed these wishes to your family members or healthcare provider beforehand, there may be some uncertainty about whether they should be carried out in an emergency when time is critical.

A living will provide clear guidance for what course of action should be taken and helps ensure the right treatment decisions when the patient is no longer in a position to speak for themselves.

Other advantages of a living will include:

1. Ensuring that your wishes are respected by your family and healthcare providers, providing peace of mind knowing that you won’t be kept alive against your wishes in the event of a serious medical emergency.

2. Allowing you to specify other types of treatment or care that you do want to receive rather than just those that you don’t want to receive if there is no hope for recovery. This gives you greater control over your healthcare and ensures that your wishes are followed when it comes to end-of-life care decisions.

3. Providing legal documentation of your expressed preferences, which can be used as evidence in court if necessary.

4. It prevents conflicts and confusion among family members.

5. Most importantly, it allows you to make your wishes about end-of-life care known before an emergency situation.

6. Letting you specify exactly which types of medical treatments or procedures you do and do not want to receive in a critical or life-threatening situation. This gives you greater control and autonomy over your own healthcare decisions, regardless of what others might want for you.

If you need any assistance in notarizing your living will do not hesitate to contact us. We are a team of professional notary publics who can assist you in notarizing the above document.