No one enjoys planning for their own death or illness. Of course, no one lives forever, so making legal decisions now while you are mentally and physically competent is vitally important to your future as well as your family's. One step you should consider taking is having a living will drawn up for you by a probate lawyer. A living will can ensure that your medical wishes are carried out when you are no longer able to express them yourself.
Age
No matter how young and healthy you are, having a living will is a good idea. Serious illness strikes even the very young and accidents can happen to anyone at anytime. In fact, over 2.5 million US residents die each year, across all demographic groups. Many of these deaths are entirely unexpected. A living will is not something to be put off until you are older. It needs to be executed now.
Advantages
Medical science has made huge advances in just the last decade, meaning that seriously ill people can be kept alive for longer periods of time. Unfortunately, some people in critical medical situations are alive in name only. If you personally do not want to receive some of these treatments, such as a feeding tube, artificial resuscitation, or breathing tube, you can state that wish in your living will. The living will can force your doctors to forgo certain treatments.
Obviously, you are not able to make sound medical decisions for yourself when you become mentally incapacitated. If you do not have a living will, the court will likely appoint a family member to make decisions for you. Your loved ones may want to take any steps they can in order to extend your life because they cannot bear to let you go. In some instances, the appointed surrogate will not know what your wishes are. A living will takes the guesswork out of the equation. You will get the treatment you want and not what others want for you.
To make certain that your living will is as binding as possible, seek out a probate attorney. He or she can quickly create and execute one for you. As with any type of will, the document will be witnessed and notarized. Your lawyer can make sure that the living will is enforced if you do suffer a catastrophic medical event. Getting a living will now will prevent making a tragedy worse in the future.
Share18 November 2015
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