Creating Your Own Living Will
April 9, 2008
Do you have strong views about what should happen to you should you find yourself in a vegetative state for example, without the means to communicate your final end of life wishes to anyone? Is so, perhaps you should be thinking about creating a living will, or durable power of attorney (or medical powers of attorney)?
It would be quite understandable if you do not want to think about a living will, because thinking of a living will would mean thinking about yourself in pretty poor circumstances. However, if you do feel strongly about what would happen to you should you be so badly hurt that you cannot communicate, then you should read on.
A living will is an instruction for termination of your life. You would specify the circumstances under which it would apply, so if, for example, you believe that once your heart stops beating, or once your brain stops working, you do not want life support, you have the right to request that in your living will. You can also ask that no nourishment be given to you, and other similar extreme measures. You should understand that the laws can be a bit tricky, and the decision might be taken out of your hands if you are hospitalised.
You should always discuss your wishes with your family and family doctor. Your family will be the first people who will be consulted if you find yourself in such serious circumstances, and if your wishes come as a shock to them, on top of the shock of seeing you so badly incapacitated, may render them unable to act on your wishes. If they are fully aware of what you want beforehand, they will be better prepared to deal with the situation.
It is a simple matter to create a living will these days. You can always employ the services of a legal professional of course, and that course of action is always open to you. The Internet has made such matters much easier though, and you should be able to download the forms, and fill them out yourself. It would be prudent to still run the completed documents by a legal professional though, because you might live in an are with particular legal requirements with respect to living wills, and with the best will in the world, online documentation will always be rather generic in nature and will not fill all circumstances.
It is also possible that living wills might not be acknowledged where you live. It might be prudent to do some preparatory work with a legal professional where you live just to be sure that you have not made any administrative errors.
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