Living Wills FAQs
	What is a living will? What is a Surrogate/Health Care Power of Attorney? Can you cancel a living will? Do I need witnesses? What about pregnancy? Do I have to have a Health Care Power of Attorney? What does a Health Care Power of Attorney do? Who should I give copies of my living will to? Do I have to have the document notarized? What will make this document legal and binding? How will anyone know I have a living will should something happen to me? What is the difference between a living will and a last will? My attorney says I should have a Healthcare Power of Attorney but your website says you create living wills. Can I create a Healthcare Power of Attor What makes a living will valid? Can my healthcare surrogate override my specific Living Will instructions? How will my doctor know I have a living will? Can I revoke or make changes to my living will? What is a living will? A living will is a document outlining specific healthcare-related wishes that apply while you are still alive. Unlike a typical Last Will and Testament, it has nothing to do with how you want your property divided when you die. It simply states that you do not want artificial life support if you either become terminally ill or enter into an irreversible coma or vegetative state. What is a Surrogate/Health Care Power of Attorney? A health care surrogate is a person whom you can trust to make medical decisions on your behalf in the event you are unable to make these decisions for yourself. A legal document which appoints a health care surrogate is sometimes known as a "Health Care Power of Attorney" or living will. The LegalZoom living will allows you to combine a living will with the appointment of a surrogate. Unlike the provisions of a standard living will, a health care power of attorney (included in the LegalZoom Living Will package) enables a surrogate to make decisions on your behalf even if you are not terminally ill or in an irreversible coma but if you are not able to make these decisions on your own. In addition, it provides a back-up in case a hospital does not fully honor your intentions in the living will. In some cases, the provisions of a living will are combined with the health care power of attorney. In addition, you may nominate an alternate surrogate should your first choice be unable to serve. Can you cancel a living will? Yes, a living will can be cancelled or revoked. You can revoke your living will at any time without regard to your mental or physical condition. A revocation is effective upon its communication to the attending physician or other health care provider by you or by anyone who witnessed you revoke your living will. If you wish to revoke a living will, you should consider doing the following: Tear up or destroy the living will. Inform all persons who are listed as a representative of your revocation and tell any doctor/health care provider the same. If you are adopting a new living will, be sure to include that in any communication. If you decide to revoke during an emergency situation you should inform anyone who will listen (i.e. doctor, nurse, paramedic) that you have a living will that is revoked. The important thing here is to have a witness to your revocation. Do I need witnesses? Because of the gravity and importance of this document, witnesses are required to verify a living will document states the true intentions of the maker. Also, witnesses must not have any stake in your estate (i.e. they must be people you do not intend to give something to after your death). What about pregnancy? Most state laws do not allow you to refuse life-prolonging medical procedures if you are pregnant at the time of your medical need. In the case of pregnancy, the living will is usually canceled unless there is absolutely no chance the fetus will survive. Do I have to have a Health Care Power of Attorney? No. It is not required that you have a Health Care Power of Attorney. What does a Health Care Power of Attorney do? A Healthcare Power of Attorney is a legal provision which allows you to appoint a healthcare surrogate who will make medical decisions on your behalf. With LegalZoom, you have options. Your document can include both a living will and healthcare provision, a living will document, or just a Healthcare Power of Attorney document. Who should I give copies of my living will to? You do not have to give your living will to anyone. People generally give a copy to their physicians, health care surrogate, and other trusted individuals. Do I have to have the document notarized? What will make this document legal and binding? Your living will needs to be notarized. You will need to sign the living will in front of witnesses, and have the witnesses sign the document in front of a notary in order for it to be legal and binding. How will anyone know I have a living will should something happen to me? People generally give a copy of their living will to their physicians, health care surrogate, and other trusted individuals. What is the difference between a living will and a last will? A living will is a document outlining very specific wishes that apply while you are still alive. It simply states you do not want artificial life support if you become terminally ill or enter an irreversible coma or vegetative state. A last will and testament is a document controlling who receives your property, who will be the guardian of any children, and who will manage your estate upon your death. My attorney says I should have a Healthcare Power of Attorney but your website says you create living wills. Can I create a Healthcare Power of Attor A LegalZoom living will document includes a Healthcare Power of Attorney. Here’s a re-cap: a Living Will specifically states whether you wish to have artificial life support if you are (1) terminally ill and will die within a short period of time without life support (2) in an irreversible coma or vegetative state. A Healthcare Power of Attorney is a legal document which allows you to appoint a healthcare surrogate who will make medical decisions on your behalf. By using LegalZoom, you have the option of creating: a document that includes a living will and Healthcare provision, a living will document, or just a Healthcare Power of Attorney document. What makes a living will valid? There are four basic requirements to make a living will valid: Age—you must be at least 18 years old to make a valid living will document. Soundness of Mind—the person signing the living will cannot be mentally ill or disabled and must be acting of his or her own free will, without undue influence from others. Witnesses—at least two people (we recommend three as some states require three witnesses) must watch you sign the living will. Do not use the following persons as your witness: Any person you appointed to make health care decisions on your behalf Any person related to you by blood, marriage or adoption Any person entitled to receive anything under any last will and testament that you have made Your doctor or physician, or an employee of your doctor or physician The operator or employee of a community care facility or residential care facility or residential care facility for the elderly Any person who is financially responsible for your health care Notary—your document should be notarized by a notary public. The notary public must observe you and your witnesses sign the document. Can my healthcare surrogate override my specific Living Will instructions? No, your healthcare surrogate cannot override your specific instructions in your living will. You will always be able to have control of your own medical care if you have the ability to do so. Your healthcare surrogate must always act in your best interests and do his/her best to try to follow any and all of your healthcare wishes. How will my doctor know I have a living will? You should make a copy of your living will once it is legally binding (see “finalizing your living will” for more information) and give a copy to your primary physician, appropriate family members and any person you nominated to make health care decisions on your behalf. Can I revoke or make changes to my living will? You may revoke and/or change your living will/healthcare power of attorney at any time. If you would like to make changes to your document you can either revise your LegalZoom Living Will or create a completely new one. Some reasons to revise or make a new living will include: changes in medical technology, designating a different person to make healthcare decisions for you, changes in health, or simply changing your mind. Point of origin credit for this file is given to LegalZoom.com, Inc., a registered and bonded legal document assistant, #0104, Los Angeles County. LegalZoom.com is not a law firm and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.