Living Wills

These are not Wills in the true sense as they do not deal with the estate but, ‘Living Will’ is a commonly accepted name for 'advance directives' whereby a person can express their preferences about medical treatment they receive in the event that they may not have sufficient capacity to express or make such decision about it themselves. Like a Will it relieves the burden of decision that inevitably falls on members of the family. Although a directive can be a request, refusal, or appoint a third party (proxy) to make the decision.

The purposes of 'Living Wills' include: to extend autonomy to the end of life, to restrict or endorse the presumption of consent, to give best evidence of wishes, to safeguard dignity and privacy of the incapacitated, to improve communication between family and medical advisors and to plan for any future incapacity.

There is evidence of a growing public demand for Living Wills. Frequently, clients who have a Living Will find that they relieve their fear of being utterly helpless, giving them a sense of control over any medical treatment they are to receive in the future.

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