Living Will Form

Worried about what might happen to you if you are seriously ill? Wondering about appointing a substitute to make decisions on your behalf in case you become sick and cannot comprehend or make any decision regarding your life? Want to leave behind guidelines to your family as to how to go about with your treatment of a certain medical condition? Well, a will might help you to achieve that. A will is a legal document that helps you direct orders to your family members as far as your rights is concerned. There are various kinds of wills out there, with its varied purpose and one such is the living will.

What is a living will?

A living will is defined as a legal document which is used to state a person’s wishes if they are terminally ill and are unable to make or communicate any decisions. Also, known as an advanced directive, it states exactly the medical care that is to be administered to them in case they fall terminally ill. As opposed to the name, a living will doesn’t designate property to family members upon death and its main purpose is to fulfill the last wishes, in terms of medical care, of a particular person.So, if you planning a will and designating property upon your death, it is time to include a living will along with it. You don’t have to make your family members guess about the kind of medical treatment you would want. Check out a living will sample and get an idea about what you can do and write in a living will. You can simply download a professional template for a living will form and get a basic outline of the format.

How does a living will work?

A living will is created and formed according to state guidelines. While some states make palliative care a necessary measure, but there are some which states CPR to be among the extraordinary measures. Thus, it is essay that you be aware of the state guidelines for advance directives. Once you formulate and decide upon what you want your will to dictate, you have to get it notarized and if required, get it signed by witnesses. The living will come into effect any time you want, as per the directions stated in the will, immediately, or when you are no longer able to communicate. Also, a living will can be annulled at any time.So, while creating a living will form, it is necessary that you look at professional templates in order to smooth out the process of writing one. You can download a template from a number of sites available and look at in order to understand what to write and how to write it. Write your living will with these professional templates available and save yourself from any amount of hassle!

Power of attorney: appoint your substitute to make decisions

When forming your living will, you can appoint a person through the power of attorney to make life decisions on your behalf. This is also known as healthcare proxy where you transfer the power to make life decisions about your health to someone else, in case you do not know what to do about it right now.The person you appoint as a living trust can be anyone. It can be a family member, your spouse, a friend and so on. You need to choose someone whom you can rely upon to make sound judgement about your health. You can even transfer the power of attorney to more than one person and appoint alternatives if one fails to make a sound decision.However, you cannot appoint your doctor to make these decisions on your behalf. Also, you should have discussed such issues with them prior to signing the document and must be able to trust them. Go through the state guidelines thoroughly prior to creating such a legal document and transfer the power of attorney to the person of your choice.

Importance of living wills

Oftentimes it has been seen that at hospitals, family members are incapable of deciding the kind of treatment or care a terminally ill patient should receive. A lot of arguments are created deciding over the appropriate treatment and care necessary. Also, the arguments are usually about- to what extent they are willing to go to save the life of the patient.With a living will, this problem is resolved. A living will states precisely what care and treatment is to be administered in case the person falls terminally ill. Thus, every prospective situation is explored and the directions are left in such a way that no bitter argument arises of any such situations.Thus, with a professional template, get started on your living will and ensure that your last wishes are granted in accordance to your needs. With a professional template, not only do you get a basic idea of the format, but also, it makes writing it all the more easier and saves precious time while formulating it.

Difference between healthcare proxy and living will

While a healthcare proxy and living will are both synonymously used with each other, they do differ a bit in function. While a healthcare proxy appoints a person to make decisions on your behalf when you are terminally ill, a living will simply states the degree and the treatment that should be administered to you during such time.For a healthcare proxy, you need to choose the person wisely and categorically discuss and explore hypothetical situations where you state what you want during such situations. For a living will, there are no such things discussed, you simply put into words your wishes.

Essential elements of a will

While different wills have different formats, essentially, all wills have almost the same basic structure. With a professional template, any confusion over the format can be resolved. By simply downloading it, you can start forming your living will without any trouble. You do not have to create it right from the start; they are easy to use and readily available online.Like any other will, a living will has certain essential elements as well. These elements determine the validity of such a will and are stated below:

• The writer should be of legal age.
• The writer should be of sound mind and should write the will free of all constraints and of their own will.
• It should contain a statement that the will is written by that person.
• The presence of an executor has to be determined.
• The will needs to be signed and attested by two witnesses, if it is typed.
• Should state your intent for writing the will.

Tips on writing a living will form

Writing a will can always pose to be a problem. You might not know or understand the format or you might be confused about what you should write. For such instances it is necessary that you download a professional template and take a look at living will sample. Such a template allows you to write a properly framed living will as it gives you an idea about the basic structure and saves you precious time in getting the documents formed.Along with such a template, employ the tips stated below to form a stellar living will, which is direct and crisp:

Explore your options

It is imperative that you choose wisely before you opt for the kind of treatment you want. A living will states to what extent the doctors should try in order to keep you alive and communicate the same to your physician and family. So, before you create one, discuss at length about hypothetical situations with your doctor and then formulate one.

Pick a trusted person

If you want to transfer the power of attorney for you living will, pick someone who you can trust with your life choices and who will understand it.

State your choice

Once you have selected someone along with its method of treatment and care, reveal it to your close ones.  Often, it has been seen that families were never informed which goes on to create a dispute amongst them.

Keep updating your will

Many people forget to update their living will once they have created it. Add anything that you want to and keep it updated as much as you can.

Keep copies

Keep and give out copies of your updated will to your family members, doctor and the people who need to be informed about your life choices.

Common mistakes made in forming a living will

While the purpose of creating a living will is clear, however, many people fail to recognize the common mistakes which take place while writing a will. Such common mistakes are listed below:

Choosing the wrong format

While most wills follow a similar format, there are few subtle things which differentiate them. This can be resolved by simply downloading a living will template. A professional template such as these resolves any confusion that you might have and saves you a great lot of time and money in formulating such a document.

Providing wrong information

Writing the correct information and giving a fully detailed description of their last wishes, is what many people fail to do. This gives rise to many confusion and arguments which invalidates the will. Also, never combine your will which involves the division of your property with your living will, no matter how reasonable it seems.

Not appointing a power of attorney

Even though your living will might state explicitly what your last wishes are in case you are terminally ill, you still need to appoint someone and give them the power of attorney. This is what many people fail to do.  Appointing one will save your last wishes to be refuted by your family members in case any confusion arises.

How to write a living will form?

If you are still unsure about the format or do not know what to write in your living will form, then it is time that you download a professional template and have a look at it properly. This will give you an idea about how you should start writing, the tone of the will, and how you will pen down your wishes. The readymade template allows you to simply pen down the requisite details in the blanks provided and formulate the document as per your needs.Listed below is how you can write a living will, with the utmost ease, without much hassle:

• First you need to write a medical power of attorney.
• Once you have finishes writing, download the living will form and fill the information required in section 1. In this, you need to fill in your name, address, and the number of your healthcare agent. You need to provide your name as the creator of the will.
• Fill in section 2 with the requisite details of the alternate agents, if you have any.
• Fill in the date in section 3 which sates the date from which the will be valid.
• State the powers you want to transfer to your healthcare agent in section 4. Be as discursive as you can.
• In section 5 and 6, specify your wishes for end of life care and discuss any limitations. Include issues like blood transfusions, CPR, amputation, resuscitation, surgery and so on. You can even limit the care that would be given like for example, if you are comatose, should they use all possible methods to sustain you or would you like to opt for DNR.
• In section 7, you need to encourage the compliance of the doctor without being liable as a civilian.
• Write about whether you want your organs to be donated in section 9.
• Once you are done writing, sign and get it notarized as per your state laws.

Get an attorney to supervise over the entire process if required.So go on, and start creating your will now by simply downloading a living will form!