Despite the name, it has nothing to do with who gets your house. It's a medical document, and it only matters if you can't speak for yourself, so your family and care team don't have to guess.
Living wills are governed by state law, and forms, witness rules, and wording differ from state to state. Your state's own form, your doctor, or a lawyer can tell you how it works where you live.
What a living will is
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) says advance directives are legal documents that provide instructions for medical care and only go into effect if you cannot communicate your own wishes. The two most common are the living will and the durable power of attorney for health care. Cornell's legal dictionary describes a living will as a list of your wishes about medical treatment if you can't give informed consent or refusal, commonly covering which life-sustaining measures can and cannot be used.
It's different from a will, which NIA says deals with your estate: property, financial assets, care for dependents, gifts and funeral arrangements.
NIA also makes two honest points. A directive is legally recognized but not legally binding, so your providers and proxy will do their best to follow it, but they may not be able to in every situation. And if you have no directive at all, the state laws where you live decide who makes medical decisions for you.
What's on it
There's no national form. MedlinePlus says a living will tells which treatments you want if you are dying or permanently unconscious, and that you may accept or refuse care. The table lists topics that commonly come up and the paperwork that sits next to them.
| Topic or document | What it is | Note |
|---|---|---|
| CPR | Efforts to restart the heart if it stops | NIA lists it as a decision a living will can address |
| Ventilator | A machine that pushes air into the lungs | NIA: you can say whether you'd want one |
| Dialysis and tube feeding | Kidney treatment and artificial nutrition | MedlinePlus lists both as examples |
| Organ and tissue donation | Your wishes about donating | MedlinePlus lists this as something to consider including |
| Health care proxy (durable power of attorney for health care) | Names a person to decide for you | Separate document; see power of attorney |
| DNR, DNI, POLST or MOLST | Medical orders signed with your doctor | NIA says to ask your doctor; POLST availability depends on your state |
NIA notes that even if your living will says you don't want CPR, a DNR order in your medical file helps in a hospital, because without one staff will attempt every effort to restore breathing and heartbeat.
What to keep and for how long
A living will is only useful if the right people can find it, so keeping it is mostly about sharing it. NIA's steps are specific:
- Make copies and store the original safely. Give copies to your health care proxy, doctors, and lawyer. Some states have registries that can store your directive for quick access by providers and your proxy.
- Review at least once a year, and after major life changes such as a move or divorce.
- Keep old versions. NIA says to file your previous versions and note the date each was replaced. If you use a registry, make sure the latest one is on record.
- Spend time in more than one state? NIA suggests preparing directives on each state's form and keeping a copy in each place.
A phone copy is handy but shouldn't be the only one: copies in your proxy's and doctor's hands are what get used. If you keep a scan in a digital emergency binder, tell your proxy where it is. Medical papers in Paperlock sit behind Face ID with blurred thumbnails until you unlock them. The wider picture is in organizing medical records.
This isn't legal or medical advice. Your doctor and your state's forms have the final word.