What is Living Will Drafting?
A living will is a legal document that specifies your preferences for medical treatment in the event that you are in a coma or cannot make those decisions yourself due to other reasons. By drafting it when you’re healthy, you can make sure your preferences are respected.
Drafting a living will when you have the mental capacity to do so benefits you by ensuring you maintain control of your preferences. You can also avoid disputes between family members who could be burdened with making huge decisions on your behalf.
If you need to draft a living will, you might wonder how to navigate the process.
Read the rest of this article to explore what you should include in a living will, how to draft it, and why you should work with a qualified lawyer to assist you with the process.
What Information Should a Living Will Contain?
A living will usually includes information such as the following:
- Life support information. You’ll specify if you’d like to remain on a ventilator or kept alive artificially. This could include mentioning a specific time period or remaining on life support until a specific event, such as loved ones coming to see you one last time before you pass.
- Resuscitation. Your views on being resuscitated via CPR if your heart or breathing stops must be included. If you don’t want this, you’ll want to make use of a medical Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) instruction to inform your healthcare providers.
- IV fluids and feeding tubes. If you can’t eat or drink on your own, your medical treatment might include IV fluid and feeding tube instructions. You should specify if you would want them or not.
- Organ donation. Consider your preferences when donating your organs or tissues should you pass away.
- Healthcare agent. You might want to appoint a healthcare agent who will make your healthcare decisions on your behalf, even if they’re not in the living will. This will require another document, known as an advance directive.
What are Tips for Living Will Drafting?
When drafting a living will, there are some important things to consider so that it’s clear and aligned with your wishes. Here’s a rundown of them.
Think About What You Want and Don’t Want
While you might concentrate on your medical treatment preferences, you should also consider what you’d refuse, such as feeding tubes or CPR. While it can be challenging to know what to decide when you’re healthy, take some time to think about it so every part of your living will is aligned with your wishes.
Choose the Right Healthcare Agent
You must take time to think about who you’re choosing to carry out your medical preferences. You should select someone who can remain calm under pressure and communicate clearly with medical staff in emergency situations or when they feel overwhelmed.
Avoid a Generic Template
A living will forces you to make critical decisions that could literally be life or death choices. This requires more consideration than simply filling out a generic template. You might also have unique requirements that don’t appear in templates, so you should take the time to think about them and put them down in writing.
Make the Living Will Legally Enforceable
To ensure your living will is legally valid, it has to be in writing and signed. Always consider your state laws because your living will must meet all state requirements, which can vary quite a bit in different locations. For example, some states require you to sign the document in the presence of witnesses or notarize it.
For safety, give copies of your living will to your doctor and a trusted family member. Don’t draft your living will and then forget about it. You should review it regularly, such as when your life situation or preferences have changed.
Do You Need a Lawyer to Draft Your Living Will?
It’s advisable to hire a lawyer to help you draft your living will. Not only will they confirm that it’s legally compliant, but they’ll also do the following:
- Write the living will in clear, easy-to-understand language that prevents confusion if you’re not around to express your wishes.
- Customize your living will according to your situation and feelings, instead of relying on a restrictive generic template.
- Align the living will with other estate-planning documents to prevent conflicts and inconsistencies.
- Ensure your healthcare agent follows your instructions.
- Consider any complex family relationships that could potentially lead to disagreements.
- Help you execute the living will properly, such as with notarization and signatures.
- Update your living will over time, such as if the law or your personal situation changes.
Where to Find a Lawyer for Living Will Drafting
If you want to find and hire a lawyer to help you draft a living will, you should use an online legal marketplace where you can make use of a network of qualified lawyers to help you with the contract-drafting process.
ContractsCounsel is one of the largest online legal marketplaces that gives you access to a network of vetted lawyers. All lawyers on the platform have years of experience in contract drafting and review.
It’s easy to request that a professional lawyer on the platform drafts your living will. Here are the steps to follow:
- Go to the ContractsCounsel marketplace.
- Post your project for free. Include a few details, such as why you need a living will drafted, to help you find the most suitable lawyer.
- Receive multiple bids from lawyers directly on the platform who have the experience to help you.
- Review the lawyers’ profiles. Go through the platform’s lawyer data, such as their location, client ratings for previous projects, expertise, and credentials.
- Connect with a lawyer you think is best suited to your requirements and hire them to draft your living will for a flat fee.
