San Antonio Wills
What is a Living Will?
At the Duke Firm, PC, our San Antonio attorneys are frequently asked questions about living wills, specifically what the difference is between a living will and a will which provides for your beneficiaries after you pass away. A living will is a legal document that allows you to determine the level of medical care that you would like in certain situations. Generally, a living will specifies whether you would like life-sustaining procedures such as a feeding tube or ventilator when you are terminally ill or in a persistent vegetative state. There are degrees of care that you may specify that you would like, such as medication and pain management, without the use of life-sustaining measures.
What is the Difference Between a Living Will and an Advanced Care Directive?
The terms are often used interchangeably. An advanced care directive also specifies what type of care you would like to receive in certain situations. Both documents may also identify a person(s) who is your health care proxy: that is, if you are unable to make a decision, your health care proxy can make the decision, but in accordance with your wishes as set forth in your living will or advanced care directive.
Who Should Have a Living Will?
Unsettling as it may seem, we should all have a living will. A living will is not just for senior citizens. Younger people may also be in serious accidents or face a terminal disease, and the same decisions about their long-term care will have to be made. With the advances made in medicine over the years, life may be sustained for years but in a manner, such as a persistent vegetative state, that some would not choose.
Where Do I Keep My Living Will?
You should give a copy of your living will to your physician, to your spouse and other close family members, and your San Antonio probate attorney, so that your desires will be made known. Keep a copy with important papers so that people will know where to look if you are incapacitated.
