What to Include in a Living Will

What to Include in a Living Will

A living will is a legal document that provides instructions to doctors and providers about your preferences for end-of-life medical care. Living wills are beneficial because they remove some of the burden from your healthcare surrogate to make decisions on your behalf.

Here are a few of the items you may wish to include in your living will:

  • Direction as to whether you want any life-saving or life-prolonging measures administered or continued if there is no probability of survival
  • Specific directions about the kind of care you do or do not want, such as ventilation, dialysis, artificial nutrition and hydration or other types of care
  • Any wishes you have regarding palliative care, including whether you wish to die at home
  • Considerations regarding your religious or spiritual beliefs that you wish to be honored in your medical care and end-of-life care
  • Whether you wish to become an organ donor upon your death

While you are not required to create a living will, it serves as a very useful set of guidelines for your loved ones and medical providers. The benefits are numerous. Develop your living will while you are still in good health, and upon plenty of reflection about your wishes.

For more information about creating a living will, contact an experienced Tampa, FL estate planning attorney at BaumannKangas Estate Law.