Living will

The Purpose Of A Living Will

Learn here what the purpose of a living will is and what you can accomplish with it.

Many people don’t understand the purpose of a living will. Some get it confused with a will, and believe that it is another means of distributing property. This is not the case, however.

The purpose of a living will is to tell your family what you want to happen should the need for life support arise. Many people do not want to be kept alive this way for a variety of reasons. They may not want to become a “vegetable,” or it may be against their religion to be kept alive with machines.

So the purpose of a living will is to inform your family what you want to happen in this case. You can create a living will inside your estate plan, all on its own, with a power of attorney, or without. Many states consider a medical power of attorney to be the same thing as a living will.

Aside from what the living will actually does, there are many purposes for having a living will. Not only can it make sure that everything happens the way you want it to, it can also prevent arguments within your family and keep the stress of this decision off your children.

Consult with an attorney to find out more about living wills and how to go about creating one.