How To Create a Living Will

A living will is a legal document known as an advance directive that gives instructions to health professionals. It lets them know under which circumstances you would like to be kept alive and which circumstances you would not. If you are interested in creating a living will, follow these guidelines.
 

1. There are two main ways to create a living will. You can either have a legal professional create one for you or you can do it yourself.

2. If you have a legal professional do the living will for you, hire one that specializes in this type of law in your state. If the living will is for an elderly person, find a lawyer who specializes in elder law.
3. If you are going to do it yourself, the first thing to do is find out the laws for living wills in the state where you live. This can be done by doing an Internet search with the words "living will" followed by the name of your state. For example, if you were searching in the state of New Jersey, you would use a search engine to search for "living will New Jersey."

   Your search will uncover many sites. Look to see if the state's website is in the list. That would be the best place to start.

4. Read all the site has to say about living wills before beginning to fill out the living will forms. The state site should have downloadable forms specific to that state and instructions.
5. Another way to do it yourself is to use a website like Legal Zoom. At these websites, you fill out a questionnaire and then the site prepares your document for you. When it is finished, you can look it over, and decide whether to purchase the document or not. This is a simple way to "do it yourself." It costs more than doing all the paperwork yourself, but takes a lot of the guesswork out of it.

   Even if you create your living will this way, it is still a good idea to research the laws for your state yourself before doing so.

6. While creating your living will, discuss the choices you are making with your loved ones so that they are aware of your choices and understand the reasons behind them. Ask them to please respect your wishes if the time comes that the living will needs to be used.
7. Whether you are having a legal professional create your living will or you are doing it yourself, make sure that the document is signed, witnessed and notarized according to the laws of your state.
8. A legal copy is necessary if the directives in the living will are to be carried out. Therefore, all people who are given a copy of the living will need to have a legal copy, not just a copy. If a legal copy cannot be produced at a critical decision time, your wishes may not be carried out.
9. Not all states require that doctors and hospitals carry out the wishes in a living will, even if it has been properly prepared. Find out the laws in your particular state. As a backup, you may want to consider getting a durable power of attorney for health. This document gives another person the authority to make medical decisions for you if you are incapacitated.

Once the living will is created and made legal, there's one last thing you need to do.  Make sure that your copy and the copies you have given to others are kept in safe, accessible locations in case they are needed on short notice.