Before we get into why it is critical for you to get a living will we need to establish what a living will is.
- Living wills are legal instructions in which you make known to everyone, including your doctors, your wishes about you want done medically if you are near death and you are unable to express your wishes about whether or not you want to be kept alive. In layman’s terms, I like to refer to a living will as the “pull the plug” document.
This is a subject that many people don’t want to talk about, but it is a necessary evil. Planning ahead can take a lot of stress and pressure off of your family member and caregivers and provide exact instructions for how you wish to be taken care of.
Many people believe that living wills are just for the elderly or sick, but an unexpected situation can happen at any age where you are unable to make medical decisions for yourself, so it is important for all adults to establish their living will as soon as possible.
2 reasons why you should put your living will in place now are:
- This planning ahead can help to avoid burdening family members with making choices that they didn’t want to have to make, or that you might not have wanted. A living will goes into detail about what you would and would not want to be done to help keep you alive. A lot of people, including close family members, may not want or be emotionally able to make life-or-death decisions on your behalf.
- It is also important to start the living will process as soon as possible because it involves a lot of discussions and self-reflection. You need to determine your values to help you decide what you would like done if you are in a situation where you can’t make decisions for yourself. You also need to have discussions with your doctor about the different situations you could be in and the different options you have in those situations to determine what medical treatment you would like to receive in that case. These discussions can be a lengthy process and that is why it is important that you start to develop your living will today.
If you have any further questions or would like to set up an appointment to start to write your living will, contact us today!