An argument among your relatives over how to medically treat you after you become incapacitated could become a messy affair. Worse, you may be in no position to express your desires. This makes it essential to use a living will to describe what you would want in certain situations.
According to AARP, your living will can be useful for establishing the following instructions.
Treatments and care
If you know certain treatments will harm you or you have religious objections to them, your living will can make it clear that you do not want them. In fact, your document may forbid life-prolonging methods if your condition is terminal. For example, if you stop breathing, your living will might instruct your doctors not to perform CPR.
Wishes for palliative care
Palliative care is medical treatment that seeks to minimize your pain and other symptoms if you have an enduring, chronic or terminal disease. Your living will can address this kind of care, which may also include expressing your desire to spend your final days at home instead of at a hospital.
Donating your organs
Your living will can also deal with issues after your death. You may want to donate your organs and tissues to people who need them. Some people use a living will to donate their body to an educational institution.
A living will can save your family a lot of stress and give you peace of mind. In addition, consider additional estate planning methods, such as assigning a health care proxy, which may help ensure that your stated medical wishes will prevail in any family conflict.
