What Do I Need a Living Will For?

A living will helps ensure that doctors follow your wishes when you are no longer able to articulate those wishes for yourself. In the absence of a living will, decisions about your medical care might be made by your doctors or members of your family --- who may have a different opinion from you about what's in your best interests.

What It Is

• A living will lists the medical procedures you would want to receive to extend your life, as well as those that you wouldn't want. If you want doctors to take all necessary measures to keep you alive, you could put that in your living will. If you don't want them to do anything, you request this as well. And if you want some procedures but not others --- for example, you'd want a feeding tube but not kidney dialysis --- you can spell out these conditions in your living will.

When It Matters

• A living will exists to serve as your "voice" when you can no longer speak for yourself, so it won't take effect as long as you can make medical decisions and express your wishes to your doctors. Your living will won't be consulted until your doctors have concluded that you are permanently incapacitated --- such as in a coma or a persistent vegetative state. The living will also won't take effect until doctors are sure that your condition is irreversible. If there's hope for recovery, the living will won't be invoked.

Your Alternatives

• A living will is just one method of directing or influencing your future medical care in the event you become incapacitated. Depending on your personal needs or preferences, you may want to explore other "advance directive" options. A "medical power of attorney," also called a durable power of attorney for health care, is a document in which you designate someone to make medical decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated. A "do not resuscitate" order, meanwhile, does not address the specifics of your care, but it instructs medical staff not to perform CPR if your heart stops beating or you stop breathing.

State Laws

• Living wills are regulated by state law, so the requirements for a valid living will vary by state. Some require living wills and other advance directives to be signed by witnesses or notarized. In many states, a living will cannot be invoked for a pregnant woman. Several states maintain registries of living wills and other advance directives, so that doctors can quickly check to see whether a patient has such a document on file. A number of private companies have also started nationwide registries.