Is it Worth it to Make a Living Will?
When thinking about the end of your life, you’ll probably decide to make a last will and testament so your surviving loved ones can carry out your wishes after your death. While in the process of making your will, you might discuss a living will. What is it and should you create one?
A Living Will
If you’re in a situation in which you need end-of-life medical treatment, but you’re in no condition to make those decisions yourself, who will make those decisions on your behalf? You might be under anesthesia, could be in a coma or could be suffering another type of complication with your health, rendering you unable to make decisions. You might appoint a medical power of attorney, but if you haven’t done that, what will happen? If you have a living will, this particular document goes into detail about what you want to happen.
A Medical Power of Attorney
If you have appointed a medical power of attorney and also have a living will, the living will takes precedence over the individual you have appointed. For example, if you have spoken with your medical power of attorney and stated you would want to be on life support to prolong your life, but your living will states you would never want to be left on life support, you would be taken off support as per the instructions in the living will. This is why it’s important to decide whether a medical power of attorney or a living will is better for your situation, and make sure you are consistent with your wishes across the board.
What to Include
When creating a living will, there are some things you’ll want to think about, so that you include everything important. Your loved ones don’t want to be left questioning your care and whether it was what you wanted. Some things to consider are:
- If you can’t breathe on your own, do you want support?
- If you can’t feed yourself, do you want feeding tubes?
- If you are in pain, what type of medication do you agree with?
- If you code, do you want to be resuscitated or intubated?
- If you die, do you want your organs donated?
Creating Your Living Will
When you’re ready to create these important documents that will help your loved ones when you’re in a poor medical state, get the assistance of an attorney. An estate lawyer in Sacramento from a firm like Yee Law Group, PC can help you out with your living will.