Preparing to Make Your Living Will

A living will is an important part of any estate plan.  Additionally, a living will can stand alone to provide instructions about the types of medical care you want provided under certain circumstances.  It can be part of a comprehensive advanced plan in case you become incapacitated due to illness or injury. Without a living will, your family could find itself in a difficult situation if you experience a medical emergency. Your medical care providers may not know what kind of care is appropriate to provide to you, and you may end up with your true wishes for medical care not being respected. 

You need to make a legally valid living will, and an experienced attorney should be consulted to help you. Parman & Easterday provides assistance with the creation of advanced directives for healthcare, including creating living wills and naming  healthcare proxies. Give us a call for help in making plans for your future medical care so you remain in control of your medical choices and spare your family from having to make difficult decisions without any guidance from you.

What is a Living Will?

A living will is the part of your advanced directive in which you provide instruction on whether you want, or do not want, medical care in certain situations. The Oklahoma Bar Association explains what a living will is.

When you make a living will, you can provide directions on medical care if you have a terminal condition, are persistently unconscious, or have an end-stage condition. You can specify that you do NOT want your life extended by extraordinary measures under these circumstances, or you can make it clear that you DO want your life extended under these circumstances.

Your living will gives you the opportunity to specify whether you want to receive artificially administered nutrition and water through tools like a feeding tube if you cannot eat or drink due to unconsciousness, a terminal illness, or an end-stage illness. If you say you don’t want these extraordinary measures used to save your life, Oklahoma law makes clear you are to be provided with medications to alleviate your pain, and you will still be provided with food and water as long as you are able to consume either orally.

A living will is only part of an advanced directive for healthcare that you create to provide instructions in case of serious illness or injury. You also need to name a healthcare proxy, someone you designate to make medical decisions for you that aren’t addressed in your living will.

How to Prepare to Make a Living Will

If you have need to make a living will to control the kinds of medical care to be provided to you, you should:

• Talk with an experienced attorney. You want a lawyer to help you make a living will that covers what is needed and that will be enforceable.
• Think about what kinds of care you want. You need to make tough choices about how to balance the possibility of recovery or extending your life with prioritizing quality of life. No one can make these decisions for you, so you need to think about what is right for you before you make your living will.
• Decide if you want to talk with your family. You may want to involve your loved ones in your decision and let them know in advance about your preferences, but it isn’t necessary.

Parman & Easterday can assist you to make the hard choices about your medical care and ensure your future is as protected as possible.

Getting Help from An Oklahoma City Living Will Lawyer

When making an advanced directive for healthcare and preparing a living will, you need help from a compassionate and knowledgeable lawyer, one who can ensure you comply with the Oklahoma Law for making a legally valid living will. You do not want a document that isn’t enforceable or that does not address the key issues that matter at the end of your life.

Parman & Easterday can help with a living will, with naming a healthcare proxy, and with making other plans in case of an incapacitating illness or injury, such as making a health care power of attorney or a financial power of attorney to determine who should manage your assets.

To find out more about incapacity planning and how you can use a living will to control your destiny if you become ill or incapacitated, join us for a free seminar. You can also give us a call today at (405) 843-6100 or contact us online for personalized advice from an Oklahoma City living will lawyer. Reach out to us today so you can make your living will and express your preferences for care before it is too late.