What is a Living Will?
    A Living Will is merely a statement of your desire to end life support measures at some point if you are unable to express your wishes otherwise.

     Generally people who execute a Living Will do not want to have their body kept functioning on very expensive life support when they are brain dead and have no chance of recovery, or even regaining consciousness.  Some people who have been on ventilators or who have had open heart surgery make clear that they do not want such measures used on them again, even if it means they will not recover.

     You can make a Living Will as detailed as you want, and if you wish you can even specifically state that you want all possible life support measures to continue so long as your doctor can force your blood to flow and a ventilator and force air into your lungs.

Nursing Homes & Hospitals
      Under Federal Law any nursing home or hospital where you go in for treatment that could result in your incapacity (which includes most surgical procedures because of the possibility of complications) is required to ask if you have a Living Will and also if you have executed a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care .  If you don't have one, and want one, they generally will offer you standardized forms to fill out.  The forms are perfectly valid.... and are exactly the same for each and every person, with no opportunity to make any changes, or to even discuss the matter with someone who can fully answer the questions you might have to help you determine whether a change would be appropriate.

To Assure Wishes Carried Out
      I encourage anyone preparing a Living Will to also prepare a Durable power of Attorney for Health Care to make certain someone is there who knows what you would want done if there is any question about whether you would want medical care to continue or exactly what medical option you would want taken if you were able to express your wishes.

What If Your Wishes Are Ignored?
      A recent Nashville Chancery Court decision may indicate what other Tennessee Courts will do when family members and hospitals or nursing homes disagree on what should be done with a terminal patient on life support.  It's clear that if the patient executed a Living Will, Tennessee courts will enforce it.  But what happens if there is no Living Will saying the patient wanted to be disconnected?  In a Durable Power Of Attorney for Health Care a person names a family member or friend to make health care decisions when unable to express their own desire.  And there was some question whether Tennessee Courts would let the personal representative named this way to disconnect life support without a Living Will.  The court in Gann v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville, 21 TAM 47-35, decided that if the patient signed the paperwork while still competent, hospitals or nursing homes must follow the instructions of the personal representative.  The Court said that so long as the patient let their personal representative know what they wanted done, the personal representative (called an Attorney In Fact) could have them disconnected from life support, even if the patient never executed a Living Will.

How Do You Revoke a Living Will?
    If you have them written for you, you can revoke them however you want to be able to revoke them -- you simply write it into the document.  If you don't have any specific provision written in regarding revocation you can generally revoke it by either tearing it up, or telling your doctor you've changed your mind.

Where Do You Put It?
     What do you do with a Living Will once you've prepared it?  Do NOT simply put it in a drawer and assume signing it took care of everything.  Give copies to your physician, to your close relatives who would be contacted if anything happens to you, and to your lawyer.  If you also execute a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, definitely give copies to the person you name as your attorney in fact, and also put a copy in with your important papers.

Info & Forms on the Internet
      You can find more information on Living Wills in every state, including forms you can fill out on your own computer at the following website: http://www.choices.org/

      But be careful in doing this, because if the document is not properly executed and properly witnessed, it is void and will have no effect.

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