User:Livingwill

A living will is a document prepared by patient with a terminal sickness to create known his preferences regarding the type of medical care or treatment he would want to accept. Essentially, this document (also called an advance directive or a health care directive) enables the patient to decide for himself how he wants his life to be prolonged through medical treatments and life support systems.

Why create a will when a loved one can decide what’s most excellent for you? Well, it is your own life and it is your correct to decide for yourself whether you want to remain in a continuous vegetative state or not. To some people, prolonging life when death is looming is only prolonging the suffering and pain associated with the dying procedure Others find it a violation to their religion the process of extending their life with the use of machines.

Living wills allow terminally ill patients to decide whether to continue or remove the medical process performed on them.

Also, these documents state the kind of life support systems such as artificial feeding and fluid tubes and dialysis that a certain patient wants to use or cancel. In other words, living wills allow patients to clearly state their medical preferences before they are unable to make such literally life and death decisions.

A health care directive informs the family of what the patient would desire to happen in case he would need a life support system. As a result, family members and relatives will not have to argue amongst themselves or face a dilemma whether to extend the life of their loved one or to finish his pain.

Another justification for drafting a will is that medical breakthroughs have enabled doctors to extend and sustain ones life, though the patients may not be able to make progress from a vegetative state. A health care directive informs the doctor in advance if the patient wishes to discontinue medical procedures that are meant to extend life, even if that would mean the ending of his life.

The most excellent thing about living wills is that medical professionals and health care providers are bound to follow the statements or instructions expressed in these documents. Patients also have the choice to withdraw or alter some statements in their will, or revoke the document altogether, before they become mentally incapacitated.

For the will to be recognized as valid and legal, it must conform to the laws of your state. For example, some states require that the document be notarized, signed by two witnesses, or both. Typically, living wills become effective when the copies of the document are sent to the doctor, health care provider, and you are unable to make medical care decisions for yourself (which means either you cannot communicate because of terminal illness or are permanently unconscious and in a state of coma).

Understanding the purpose of a living will is crucial because it can spare your loved ones the burden of determining the most excellent health care decision for your condition.