A living will is a document that individuals have drafted when they want to elect to not have his or her life artificially prolonged in the event that the individual is terminally ill or in a permanently unconscious state. 

 

This document expresses the wishes of the individual when two doctors to a reasonable degree of medical certainty have determined that there is not going to be a change in the individual's condition. 

 

The living will constitutes a declaration of the person's legal right to refuse health care in that limited circumstance, specifically authorizing the removal of breathing machines and elections are made regarding the continuation or supply of artificial or technologically supplied hydration and nutrition. 

​

A living will is not a Do Not Resuscitate Order (DNR), that is a separate document usually signed with a medical professional present.  

 

An individual can also make his or her wishes known regarding organ donation in this document. 

​

Attorney Stacy E. Dame has helped many individuals express their wishes through living will documents and can answer any questions you have regarding this document.

​