What is a living will?  A living will is a legal document that a person uses to make known his or her wishes regarding life prolonging medical treatments.  It can also be referred to as an advance directive, healthcare directive, or a physicians' directive.  A living will should not be confused with a living trust  is a mechanism for holding and distributing a person's assets to avoid probate.  It is important to have a living will as it informs your healthcare providers and your family about your desires for medical treatment in the event you are not able to speak for yourself.

Generally, a living will describes certain life prolonging treatments.  You, the declarant, indicate which treatments you do or do not want applied to you in the event you either suffer from a terminal illness or are in a permanent vegetative state.  A living will does not become effective unless you are incapacitated; until then you'll be able to say what treatments you do or do not want.  They usually require a certification by your doctor and another doctor that you are either suffering from a terminal illness or permanently unconscious before they become effective as well.  This means that if you suffer a heart attack, for example, but otherwise do not have any terminal illness and are not permanently unconscious, a living will does not have any effect.  You would still be resuscitated, even if you had a living will indicating that you don't want life prolonging procedures.  A living will is only used when your ultimate recovery is hopeless.

For examples, the document may state the the signer's life should not be artificially prolonged by extraordinary measures when there is no reasonable expectation of recovery from extreme physical or mental disability.  However, the document can request that every effort be made to prolong life by extraordinary measure.  Under "additional requests," the individual can add personal instructions, such as "I want to receive as much pain medication as necessary to ensure my comfort,: or "I do not want a food tube inserted."  Generally, this directive only goes into effect if the person is no longer able to make his own decisions.

Do you have a living will?  If not, you need to call Barry now.  Living wills are simple and inexpensive and can be extremely valuable in the event you are unable to make your own healthcare decisions.