Make a Living Will

What is a Living Will?

Living Wills are written statements setting out the healthcare you would or would not like to receive in the future, should you lose capacity. The aim of a Living Will is to ensure your wishes are taken into account should you fall seriously ill and to assist relatives and medical professionals in the event that a decision needs to be made.

Livings Wills are also known as ‘advanced decisions’, ‘advance directives’, ‘advance statements’ or ‘active declarations’. The professionals looking after your healthcare will have to take them into account if certain treatment is required.

Your Living Will
When preparing your Living Will, it is important to take certain factors into consideration. We advise our clients to consider the treatment they would be happy to have and not to have as well as the fact that in the future, new treatments may be introduced on which they may wish to make a decision.

The document will include a declaration stating that you have mental capacity to understand the implications of the Living Will and it will be witnessed.

Advantages
A Living Will gives you the opportunity to refuse certain medical treatment should you wish to do so.  If healthcare professionals are made aware of your wishes, you are more likely to receive appropriate treatment.  A Living Will can also assist doctors in making difficult decisions. In addition, your relatives and friends may not be able to make these decisions during these difficult times and a Living Will can ease the pressure if your loved ones are already aware of what treatment you would and would not be happy to receive.

Notification of Living Will
We advise our clients to enter their Living Wills into their medical records in order that it may be found easily and taken into account in matters of emergency. You may decide to send a copy to close relatives as well as your G.P and to any hospital where you are receiving medical care.

Mental Capacity
Many clients are unaware that they or their loved ones are still able to make a Living Will if they are diagnosed with a mental illness. If you are able to understand the implications of your actions, there is no reason why you cannot make this advanced decision. We do advise that you should state why you have made your decision and to explain exactly what you understand about the treatment you are agreeing to or refusing to have.

Changing your Living Will
We encourage our clients to review their Living Wills every so often in order to keep it up to date with your wishes and to consider making amendments should your individual situation change.

As members of Solicitors for the Elderly, we are specialists in this area of law and would be happy to offer you a consultation to discuss your options.

Print this page
casesenior.co.uk Tel: 0843 289 6688