Living Will - Advance Health Care Directive

Most states agree that there are three types of conditions that would cause a living will form to take effect:

• A patient is terminally ill and death is likely to occur within a "short" amount of time (there is no legal definition of "short"; the decision is left up to the doctor)
• A patient is in a permanent unconscious condition
• A patient's burdens of treatment outweigh the benefits

Also called an advance health care directive in some states, a living will form authorizes your doctor to disconnect or withhold life support equipment so you may die a "natural death." Having a living will form can spare your family from making tough decisions for you.

Further, Medicare health care providers must document, in an individual's medical record, whether or not a living will (advanced directive) has been executed and they may not discriminate based on the decision to execute such documents. Health care providers are also required to ensure compliance with state law governing living wills (advance directives).

After you have drawn up your living will form, you need to find a safe place to put it. Ask your doctor to make your living will form a part of your permanent medical records by including a photocopy of your living will form in your records. You need to also tell the person you named in your living will (if any), who will make decisions for you if you can't, that you have signed a living will form and where it is kept.

Our living will forms that can be downloaded to your computer and are set up so you can fill-in your personal information by typing it into the text fields (blanks) on the printable living will form with your computer. We also have living will kits and living will form handbooks that are shipped by standard mail.

Sample Living Will (Advance Directive) Forms.

Living Will Form
Advance Directive Form

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