A living will, or advance directive, is a document that allows you to
specify what treatment you want and don’t want if your health condition is
considered terminal or you are in some permanent irreversible condition and
are, in essential respects, unconscious. You can direct that doctors do certain
things or withhold certain treatment if you are in those conditions. That means
that the doctors will be given authority to act independently of what your
loved ones might wish – that might be good or that might be bad. On the other
hand, you can leave the final decision to your loved ones through a Health Care
Power of Attorney you have granted to them to make such decisions.
As a practical matter, the decisions made are not likely to be made
known to you or matter when the time comes. The fact the final decisions were
made by your loved ones rather than by your doctors might be very important to
them.
