Many people will have heard of the term ‘Will’, and most of those people will know what a Will actually is. 

 

Hopefully, everyone reading this blog will already have a Will in place (or will have one in place shortly, after arranging an appointment with our team of Wills, Trusts and Probate Solicitors in Longridge, here). If you don’t have a Will in place, read about the importance of making one in our local solicitors for Wills’ blog, here. 

 

A term that you may not have heard all that often, however, is ‘Living Will’. Our Wills and Probate Solicitors explain what a Living Will is, and how it can be used during your lifetime. 

A Living Will is legal document, which usually outlines your wishes on medical treatment you receive, or don’t receive, should you not have the capacity to tell the doctors yourself at the time of needing the treatment. 

 

Unlike a Will, a Living Will can only be used whilst you are still alive, and is often referred to as an advance decision, as it literally outlines your decisions on treatment, before the circumstances arise where you need to make them. 

It can be tricky to talk about medical decisions with family members and, sadly, when a loved one is facing end of life treatment, people’s opinions can become clouded by their emotions, rather than always considering what is best for their loved one. Now, we’re not criticising; it’s incredibly hard to be in a position where you need to make decisions about a loved one’s treatment, especially when it could lead to you losing them. You may make a decision which is not in the best interests of your loved one, or what they would have wanted. To prevent your loved ones from being in this position if you are unable to make your own decisions, you could consider making a Living Will. 

If you are considering making a Living Will, you may wish to include the following: - 

 

 

The Wills, Trusts and Probate solicitors at MG Legal advise that Living Wills can help to essentially get the ending you want, and therefore you should include any details that you think may be helpful to your loved ones and carers in helping this happen. 

Typically, Living Wills are used by people living with a lifelong condition who want their death to be as peaceful as possible. However, so long as you are over the age of 18 with the capacity to do so, then anyone can make a Living Will. 

As with all legal documents, our team of Wills, Trusts and Probate Solicitors, would advise that the content of the document is checked by a legal professional to ensure that your wishes can and will be carried out. 

 

In the case of a Living Will, MG Legal would advise that you discuss the matter with your doctor to ensure your wishes can legally be carried out. For example, in a Living Will, you cannot appoint another person to make medical decisions on your behalf, nor can you refuse food or water or basic medical treatment. Basically, you cannot use the Living Will as a way to end your life. 

 

So long as your Living Will is executed and witnessed correctly, then it would usually be a legal document. 

Should you wish to appoint someone else to make medical decisions on your behalf, then you would need to make a Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney, something that MG Legal’s team of Wills and Probate Solicitors would be more than happy to assist with. You can find out more about Lasting Powers of Attorney and the costs involved with making these in our Wills, Trusts and Probate Solicitors in Longridge’s blog, here. 

For assistance with making a Living Will, or Lasting Powers of Attorney, contact our expert team of Wills and Probate Solicitors online, here, or email wills@mglegal.co.uk, and a member of our team will give you a call back within one working hour to discuss your matter.