An Extensive Guide To Living Will (Part 2)
A living will is a document that needs to be executed while still alive but in the incapacity of making your decisions. You will want to read part one of this article to know how to the basics for writing a living will.
How do you write a living will?
5. Contact an attorney.
It is important to have legal assistance; remember that a living will is a legal document. Your lawyer will review the document and make sure there is nothing in it that could be misinterpreted. The instructions should be clear and consistent.
Then he will make sure the will complies with the law of your state before signing it in front of a notary public or witnesses. You can change your living will at any time, but you must make sure that the previous versions are destroyed.
6. Send copies
Some people like to keep their will private, but keep in mind that some people will need access to it in case something happens to you. Of course, you should keep the original copy to yourself, but you should send copies to your doctor, family, health care proxy, and hospital records to make sure those involved know your wishes.
What should you include in your will?
As we mentioned earlier, your living will must include your medical wishes when you cannot make a decision. The general decision you will need to make is;
An Extensive Guide To Living Will (Part 2)
- Respiratory Assistance
You will need respiratory assistance if your body cannot do it; you will be put under a ventilator. Respirators can keep you alive for a long time, so you should consider whether you want to use a respirator and how long you want to last before you are taken off it.
- Tube feeding
If you cannot feed yourself, tube feeding can support you by giving you the essential nutrients. So, you can choose whether you want to be fed intravenously or via a stomach tube. As with respiratory assistance, you must specify exactly how long you want to be fed with tube feeding before taking off the tube.
- Treatment
You may need to undergo several treatments, such as dialysis, but some of those treatments will then be lifelong. So, if you don’t want to undergo a specific treatment, you can talk to your doctor to look for alternatives.
- Comfort care
Comfort care, also known as palliative care, is designed to make your days pleasant. You may prefer palliative care to aggressive treatments or invasive tests.
- Organ Donations
In your living will, you can specify whether or not you want to donate your organs. If you want to donate organs, you can also specify which organs.
You may want to know that you can also donate your body tissues or your whole body. You can also specify exactly if you want your body to be donated for scientific research.
- Choices after death
Even after your death, you can ask whether or not you want an autopsy, as well as whether you want to be cremated or buried, and other details that fall under this category.
Who needs a living will?
Everyone should work on a living will because it gives family members peace of mind. Imagine being in pain and having to choose whether to put your loved one on life support or not; that’s not easy, is it?
It is better to draft your living will while you are still healthy and aware of your decisions.
Writing a living will is very important, and more and more people are starting to write their wills. Let us know in the comments if you are thinking about drafting your living will…
