LVG-WILL
Free · All 50 States · Updated July 2026Living Will
A document expressing your wishes regarding medical treatment in the event of incapacity.
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What Is a Living Will?
A Living Will (often combined with a Medical Power of Attorney or Advance Directive) is a legal document that allows you to state your wishes regarding medical care before you become unable to express them. It outlines which treatments you want or do not want (such as ventilators, tube feeding, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation) if you are in a terminal state or persistent vegetative state.
It only takes effect if you are diagnosed by doctors as terminally ill or permanently unconscious and are unable to make your own medical decisions.
Why You Need a Living Will
A Living Will is essential to ensure that your medical treatment preferences are honored, relieving your family of the painful burden of making complex end-of-life decisions without knowing your wishes. It provides clear guidance to doctors and healthcare institutions, avoiding family disputes and legal battles over life support.
Without a Living Will, healthcare providers are legally obligated to prolong your life using all available medical technology, even if you would have preferred to be allowed to die naturally.
Key Components
1
Declarant
The person making the healthcare declaration (you).
2
Agent Appointment
Designating a health care proxy or surrogate to make decisions if you are incapacitated.
3
Life-Sustaining Treatment
Specific instructions on when to start, stop, or withhold treatments like ventilators and CPR.
4
Artificial Nutrition
Preferences regarding the administration of food and water through tubes.
5
Comfort Care
Instructions to ensure you receive maximum pain relief even if it hastens death.
6
Organ Donation
Stating whether you want to donate organs or tissue for transplant or research.
7
Witnesses / Notary
Statutory signing requirements to verify the document's authenticity (typically two witnesses or a notary).
Questions & Answers
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a living will and a living trust?
A living will deals exclusively with medical and healthcare choices at the end of life. A living trust is a financial document used to manage and distribute your property and assets.
When does a living will take effect?
A living will only takes effect when two conditions are met: you are no longer able to make or communicate your own decisions, and a physician determines you have a terminal condition or are permanently unconscious.
What is a health care proxy?
A health care proxy (or medical power of attorney) is the person you designate to make medical decisions on your behalf if you cannot make them yourself. A living will provides instructions; the proxy enforces them.
Can I change my mind after signing a living will?
Yes, you can revoke or update a living will at any time. Simply destroy the old document and create a new one, ensuring you distribute copies of the updated version to your doctor, family, and proxy.
Do emergency medical technicians (EMTs) look at living wills?
No. EMTs are trained to stabilize you in an emergency and will not read a living will. If you want to refuse emergency resuscitation, you must obtain a doctor-signed Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) or POLST order.
Living Will by State
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AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming