Ashfords Solicitors - Living Wills

Introduction

A Living Will allows you to plan for the future as regards the medical care you may or may not wish to receive if you are, at that time, unable to make those decisions for yourself due to serious illness.

For example, a person may wish to provide that if they have a terminal illness or are in a vegetative condition, they would prefer their life should not be prolonged and would rather die through natural causes.

By making an advance statement about medical treatment a person is able to guide medical practitioners (a copy should be kept with your doctor) and relieve painful and emotive decision making by the family. Close family members should be advised of the existence of the document.

Although a person may not request treatment to be given which has no beneficial effect - that which directly shortens life - they can ask for treatment which eases suffering notwithstanding that a side effect of such treatment might be to accelerate death. A person may also request that treatment is not given if the effect of that treatment is to prevent or delay their death.

A Living Will is therefore extremely useful guidance for your family and medical practitioners, should such circumstances arise.