How to Word a Living Will
- 1). Download a living will form from your state's website if it has the form available. This form will include all necessary detail for your will to be considered in that state. Some states may not have such a form, in which case you should write your own following the rules laid out in state law.
- 2). Check if you require a witness or two witnesses to sign the will with you, or a notary to validate the signatures. These rules vary from state to state, and details can be found in your individual state's laws.
- 3). Declare that you are of sound mind and are freely making the decision to write the living will.
- 4). Specify under which circumstances the will should be followed by your physician. This can be if you are terminally ill, in a persistent vegetative state, in a state of extreme mental deterioration or if you have a condition that allows you no quality of life. Living wills are documents that state your wishes if you are unable to communicate, so spell out the circumstances under which you may be unable to communicate such as persistent unconsciousness, mental incapacity or whole body paralysis.
- 5). Lay down time limits if you wish. For example, you could clarify how long you wish to be supported in a coma before the living will should be considered.
- 6). Specify which health-care interventions over which you wish to have control. These can include intravenous feeding, fluid drips, oxygen provision, life-support machines and operations to prolong life. Any or all of these can be waived. Alternatively, your living will can say which procedures you do wish to have administered.
- 7). Specify whether pain-relieving medication should be waived in case of the living will being implemented. Putting in words whether the doctor should withdraw pain medication, or indeed administer pain-relievers that may hasten death, will clarify procedures for the doctor and allow your family to understand the reasoning behind medication such as morphine being administered.
- 8). Add exceptions in circumstances to the will. For example, if you are pregnant, should the living will apply in its entirety, partly or not at all? For some states, such as Iowa, Idaho and Missouri, the implementation of a living will is not allowed at all if the person is pregnant.
- 9). Choose an agent to carry out your wishes in the event of the will being implemented and enter that person's name, address and other contact information in the will. Follow your state's rules on choosing an agent. The agent should not be a witness to the will if excluded by state law.
- 10
Choose your witness or witnesses. If state law forbids it, they must not be relatives or other legal beneficiaries. - 11
Sign the living will in the presence of your witnesses and notary. - 12
Have the witnesses sign the living will and the notary validate all signatures. - 13
Keep the will in a safe place accessible by your agent, or with your attorney.
