Living Wills, Why Are They So Important?
Living wills, advance directives are actually a set of documents? These documents help direct your medical care if you become incapacitated. Living wills are the most common examples of instructive directives. State and Federal court decisions established the right of an incompetent or comatose patient to have his or her wishes respected, as long as those wishes are known.
Living wills have become customary in many parts of the country and are broadly respected by health care providers. However, a high percentage of Americans do not have a living will and/or a power of attorney to ensure its compliance. By registering with a Living Will Registry you can rest assured that hospitals and healthcare providers have access when necessary.
In most cases the registry is a free service to you, and it eliminates worries about carrying your advance directive with you, as well as problems finding it should you become ill. By using the Registry to store their advance directives, health care providers do not need to maintain their own storage and retrieval system. They have 24-hour access to Registry by phone or internet. Participants are contacted annually to update their advance directives.
The biggest advantage of making a living will is that it allows you to voice out your preferences on the subject of life support measures and other medical treatment options. Even though your family and friends may not hold the same philosophy about the matter, the creation of such a legal document gives you an opportunity to confer with them and explain your choices.
Since your living will documents are legally binding, it is a good ideal to make sure everything is put in writing. Since every state has their own set of policies regarding this matter, if you move to a different state it would be a good ideal to check that state living will laws.
You can write these documents in a number of ways. First is by using a form that supplied by your physician. Aside from that, you also have the option to ask for the appropriate form from the health care department of your state, or your health care provider. You can go the traditional route and hire an attorney to draw up the forms for you. Of course you don't need to pay attorney for these documents. In our resource box we provide a link where you can get do-it-yourself state specific documents that you can personalize yourself.
Once you have a completed living will you should inform your lawyer - if you have one, as well as your next of kin, about the existence and whereabouts of your living will. In addition, your attending physician and health care provider should be notified and instructed in making the document a part of your permanent hospital records. On no account should living wills be stashed in a safe deposit box. Doing so will only make it harder for your loved ones to get hold of the document when the need arises.
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