Do you believe you have no control over the circumstances of your eventual death? While this is true in some instances, such as a sudden fatal car accident, it need not always be the case.
Modern-day estate planning allows you to plan many aspects of your healthcare and your death in advance. With a document called a living will, you can predetermine your medical care while relieving your family of painful decision-making burdens.
What does it do?
In a living will, you can create directives for your loved one and medical providers to follow in case of incapacitation due to illness or injury. The document empowers you to decide:
- To be an organ donor or give your body to science
- To accept or refuse specific life-saving measures
- To accept or deny life-prolonging actions when survival is unlikely
- To accept or reject specific treatments like blood transfusions, kidney dialysis or artificial respiration
Most people feel much better about approaching the end of life knowing they have put their healthcare wishes down on paper.
How can it help your family?
If you have ever had to make critical decisions for someone you care about, you probably realize how challenging it will be for your loved ones. They may constantly question their decisions or wish they had made a different choice. Others might disagree with their opinion, causing more hardships for your family.
Those who fall into the role of decision-maker for an infirm spouse, parent or grandparent agonize over their loved one’s medical decisions. When you make your medical decisions in advance, you spare your family the pain of choosing on your behalf.
Learn more about the California laws that govern living wills for additional estate planning clarity.