The Vital Importance of A Living Will

At some point during your life, you have probably encountered the concept of a living will. If you’re in your 20s, 30s, or 40s, you may not feel that you need to have one. After all, you’re in fairly good health, and you’re too young to think about end-of-life care, right? Wrong.

A living will doesn’t just cover end-of-life care for seniors nearing the natural end of their lives. It determines what happens to you if you become terminally ill, if you are terribly injured, or if you are put into a coma through a medical event or an accident. It deals with important questions that even your close family might not know how to answer.

Answering the Tough Questions

Creating a living will can be a troubling process as you are forced to consider possible future events. You’ll have to address questions such as, “How long would you want to be on artificial life support, such as a mechanical ventilator and tube feeding?” You’ll need to consider what kind of comfort care you want when you are dying. Would you rather be in the hospital, with doctors and nurses making every effort to prolong your life? Would you rather die at home with strong pain management and less invasive intervention? Your estate planning lawyer in Maryland can help you work through the difficult aspects of a living will, suggesting options without pressuring you one way or another.

Filing DNR and DNI Orders

Keep in mind that you can arrange a “do not resuscitate” (DNR) and “do not intubate” (DNI) order with your family doctor. Once you tell your doctor about your decision, the orders go into your file and remain on your medical record unless you request otherwise. When you make your living will, tell your attorney if you have one or both of those orders on file. Your attorney can help you ensure that your living will coincides with your DNR or DNI orders.

Communicating Your Wishes

Once you make a living will that includes health-related decisions, make sure that your family and your doctor know about it. Your physician will need a copy of the living will to put in your file. You may want to give a copy to key family members as well. Carry a copy among your things when you travel, and be sure to include a card in your wallet that explains who to contact and how to access your advance directives. This way, if you are injured and unable to communicate, the medical personnel attending to you will have the information they need to proceed according to your wishes.

Designating a Health Care Agent

When you create your living will, your attorney will talk with you about giving someone durable power of attorney with regards to your health care. In case you are ever unable to make your own health care choices, you designate a trusted person, such as a friend or family member, to make any life and death decisions that you did not directly address in your living will.

Protecting Your Rights

While the process of making a living will may seem scary, it’s not as frightening as the prospect of having no control over the decisions made on your behalf. With a legal and correct living will, you take the burden of choice off your loved ones’ shoulders, and you protect your right to control your own health care.


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About Nicole K. White

After losing a close relative, Nicole witnessed the devastation, enormous expense and chaos caused by not having a simple estate plan. It is Nicole’s mission to educate parents, especially single parents, about protecting themselves, their families, minor children, and assets with comprehensive Estate Planning.

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