How to Make a Living Will

How to Make a Living Will: A Step-by-Step Guide

Though living wills are equally as important as last will and testament forms, they are usually simpler to put together. For this type of document, you’re giving a declaration to your doctors and caregivers about what types of medical treatments or care you want and what you don’t want.

Your living will must adhere to state-specific requirements and the final document must be properly executed according to state law. That usually requires having witnesses who are impartial to the proceedings. (Hopefully, at the same time, you’re designating someone to represent your wishes through a complementary document called a durable power of attorney for health care).

We will go into more detail about each of the steps below.

Considering Your Medical Treatment Preferences

Ultimately, a living will is your vision for how you want to live out your final days. You decide in advance about what happens if you become incapacitated or unable to make medical decisions for yourself. That way, although you might not be able to communicate later on down the road, you can still maintain control over your health care decisions.

That means making your feelings clear about different treatment options and medical situations. Spend a bit of time weighing options. You’ll want to clarify the type of care you want, what you want to avoid, and under which conditions each of your choices apply.

Topics you might want to ponder:

• Acceptable quality of life considerations
• Cost of care
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
• Surgery and invasive procedures
• Hospitalization preferences
• Experimental treatments
• Pain management and comfort care
• Life support
• Life-sustaining treatments (ventilators, feeding tubes, dialysis)
• Caregiving
• Palliative care and hospice care
• Natural death (how much effort should be made to keep you alive if you are gravely ill)

Choosing a Health Care Proxy and Getting the Durable Power of Attorney

It’s wonderful if you create a living will, but you also need to choose someone to represent you. For example, you’ll probably want to appoint someone to communicate with your doctors and access your health care records if you’re unable to do so. Typically, people choose a child, spouse, relative, close friend, or trusted loved one for this role.

Then you need to make it legal for them to speak on your behalf. That’s where a durable power of attorney document comes in, so they can act for you, so don’t forget to get that, too. The agent or representative you choose should be very familiar with your values and wishes. You should also name alternative options in case your first choice is unwilling or unable to uphold the responsibilities.

Research State-Specific Guidelines

Many hospitals and medical facilities offer advance directive forms so you can easily use these forms to fill out your living will. Also, most states provide a free living will template that you can download. For example, you can find a printable Advance Health Care Directive form (which includes living will provisions) for California directly on the California Secretary of State's website.

However, the forms provided by your state of residence may not meet your exact needs or circumstances. Therefore, you are allowed to create your own living will document as long as it provides all of the correct information and meets the necessary requirements outlined by your state.

Finalize Your Living Will According to State Law

To make your living will legally binding and properly executed, begin by filling out the document explaining your health care and end-of-life wishes about medical treatment.

Before your living will is completed, many experts suggest you also discuss it with your doctor, your loved ones, and your attorney. They might bring up points you hadn’t considered. Or they might help you realize something you left out.

Most states require you to sign a living will in front of two adult witnesses who are usually not family members or subject to conflict of interest. Some states allow or require a notary public instead of, or in addition to, witnesses. For instance, Florida requires two witnesses but does not require notarization. A few states may accept either option or have unique requirements. Because laws vary widely, check your state’s rules to ensure your living will is legally valid.

What To Do After You’ve Written Your Living Will

Once your living will is completed, signed, and witnessed (or notarized) according to your state’s laws, the next step is to ensure it is accessible to those who may need it in an emergency. After all, your living will isn’t much good if it gets lost or you’re the only one aware of it.

Here is what you should do:

1. Keep the original in a clearly labeled folder at home in a locked file drawer or fireproof box. Make sure it’s secure, but quickly accessible in a crisis. Tell relevant people in advance where it is. And give copies to your health care agent, doctor, and attorney involved in your estate planning. Do not store your living will in a safety deposit box. Many don’t realize that safe deposit boxes are often inaccessible during emergencies without a court order.
2. To create a new living will, you need to execute a new version. Simply writing over or partially changing the original is invalid. Therefore, go through the same process as when creating the original. That means you need to sign it, have it witnessed, etc. Don’t forget to destroy all outdated versions to avoid confusion.
3. Update your living will as your life, personal relationships, values, and health status change. Does the living will still reflect your current wishes after your spouse has passed away or now that you’ve moved? Ensure your instructions remain up to date. You can review these documents on a yearly basis.

Resources for Writing a Living Will

For more information about preparing living wills, you can go to the National Institute on Aging or the American Bar Association.

If you are concerned about writing your own living will, you can always turn to a third-party service to help manage the details. In addition to hiring an attorney, you can choose from various services that allow you to efficiently produce a living will for free or at an affordable price.

Top recommendations:

• NOLO’s Quicken WillMaker & Trust: Their popular, well-established software includes a living will, health care power of attorney, and trusts. Highly respected by attorneys, it provides thorough, state-specific documents. This service costs $99 for the digital version and $80 to 85 for the paperback. This is ideal for those wanting a full estate planning toolkit with offline use.
• Trust & Will: Trust & Will offers an intuitive online platform with ongoing support. It includes a living will template tailored to your state of residence, power of attorney, and other estate planning tools. The service starts at $199 for individuals or $299 for couples. It provides 30 days of free revisions, after which additional revisions can be purchased for a fee.

Other functional, affordable options (with less depth and support):

• DoYourOwnWill provides free living will forms created by lawyers but offers only basic templates without personalized legal advice.
• FreeWill offers a free advance health care directive (living will) with easy, state-specific guidance. It’s one of the few no-cost options.
• TotalLegal sells living wills for $19.95 each as standalone documents with no subscription.

Watch the video below with our Editor-in-Chief, Jeff Hoyt, to learn more about living wills.