Creating a living will is the best way to provide your loved ones with the guidance they need in making decisions if you aren’t able to communicate your wishes. This is the clear message from an article, “Living wills take guesswork out of medical care,” from C&G Newspapers.

A living will is different from a last will and testament, which concerns itself with property distribution after you have died. A living will addresses your wishes regarding life-sustaining treatment. They are used when the signer can’t speak on their own behalf.

Most families prefer not to address this issue at all, which is understandable. The prospect of your loved one being too sick or injured and unable to tell you what kind of end-of-life care they want is not a pleasant one. However, the alternative to not having a living will is for a family or spouse to guess what you would have wanted.

This is an unfair burden to place on others, who may have to live with the worry of never knowing if their decision was the right one. Having a living will also prevents the family from fighting when one person believes you want to be kept on life support, while the other believes you’d prefer not to spend any more time than necessary hooked up to artificial feeding tubes, a ventilator, or a heart machine.

Living wills are typically prepared by estate planning attorneys, often in conjunction with other estate planning documents, such as a last will, power of attorney, healthcare power of attorney and trusts.

While a living will is not a legally enforceable document, it is invaluable in clarifying your wishes and helping loved ones during a medical crisis. The living will lists very specific preferences and can be as detailed as desired. It may set a time frame for how long you want to be kept on a ventilator, what kind of pain medications you’d wish to have and even when you would like to terminate life support.

Withholding life-sustaining care is a difficult decision to make, and the person must be resolute about following your directions, regardless of their own feelings about the choices. They may also need to withstand challenges made by family members, who may have strong feelings about your wishes.

A document regarding organ donation could be prepared. However, this is usually decided by the person named as the healthcare proxy.

Having a comprehensive estate plan created by an experienced estate planning attorney is a gift to your family. Adding a living will to clarify your intentions in the most challenging circumstances is an act of kindness, as it avoids the added pain of uncertainty, family squabbles and removes doubt in a time of great emotional duress.

Reference: C&G Newspapers (June 24, 2025) “Living wills take guesswork out of medical care”