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What is a Living Will?A Living Will is a document defining your "right to die", or rather your "right to die with dignity". It usually states that you do not want to have your life artificially prolonged by modern medical technologies when there is no hope of curing you. You can specifically define the means which you do not want used or do want used. The living will is the document that expresses your desires to the doctors, telling them when to back off and let you die. The living will is very different from the testamentary will, which disposes of your property after your death. Why Do I Need a Living Will?The living will addresses your "right to die." The issue of your right to die has moved from the hospitals to the courts. What should be a private, personal and family decision has been turned into a judge's decision. The issue came to the media headlines in 1975 with the case of Karen Ann Quinlan, a young woman in a "permanent vegetative state." Karen was believed by everyone to be breathing only because a respirator was being used to aid her. After years of court battles, her parents finally obtained a court order directing the doctors to "unplug" her. The respirator stopped as her parents stood by her side sadly wishing her a final farewell. The peace death could have brought Karen eluded her. She lived on in her vegetative state without the respirator. She continued to be fed through tubes. She lived several more years in her vegetative state before her "natural death." Since the Quinlan case, all states have wrestled with your right to die. Where do your rights meet those of the medical and legal professionals? State laws addressing a citizen's right to die are very specific. The language that can be used in your living will is specifically set forth in your state's law. Many hospitals and rest homes will give you a fill-in-the-blank living will, and because it is the language required by state law, there isn't much you can change or add. More Information on Living Wills and other Estate Planning Tools
Lee's ebook, Protecting Your Financial Future, gives you all the basic information of estate planning, including important information on Living Wills. For establishing your own estate plan, the Estate Planning System (Accumulation and Preservation of Wealth) gives you all the knowledge and proper legal documents to properly set up, fund, and maintain your own Revocable Living Trust and other "tools of wealth". A Living Will is also included in the kit. With the Accumulation and Preservation of Wealth System you'll save thousands of dollars in attorney's fees and end up with a better estate plan than over 99% of other people in the country. |
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