State Specific Living Will Forms

DocBuilder.com provides the best Living Will forms available on the internet. Living Wills (also called Advance Directives) allow a person to specify which medical treatments he/she will or will not allow in the case of a terminal illness. Living Wills take effect only when a person becomes incapacitated. In order to be incapacitated for purposes of a Living Will, the person must no longer be able to express his or her wishes regarding medical treatment. The Will specifies which medical treatments are allowed and which are not. In addition, a patient may specify their desire to die naturally and without the artificial instruments use to prolong one's life. (If you are looking for Last Will and Testament please visit our Last Will and Testament form page.)

The actual name of the document depends on the state in which you live: living will, advance directive, healthcare declaration, power of attorney, patient advocate designation, and so on. All of these names are proper legal terms for the commonly known Living Will. The common thread among all these documents is that they let you write out explicit instructions regarding the type of health care you want to receive. Living Wills also let you specify an individual or individuals who will oversee your medical treatment.

Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care

This document is similar to a Living Will. It is also sometimes known as a Medical Power of Attorney. This form allows you to name a trusted person to make medical decisions for you in the event you are unable to communicate such decisions yourself. The person you specify in the document and empower to make these medical decisions is usually called your attorney-in-fact.

You can give your attorney-in-fact authority to carry out your healthcare wishes as you've directed in your Living Will, as well as the additional power to make other necessary decisions about health care matters. Some states combine both documents into a single form, most often called an "advance health care directive." We provide both forms where applicable.

Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Order

In the case where a medical emergency occurs, DNR orders alert emergency personnel that you do not wish to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). In some cases, DNR directives are used to supplement other health care directives. Usually, if someone is already critically ill, they may strongly desire not to receive life-prolonging treatment.

If you are in the hospital, you can ask your doctor to add a DNR order to your medical record. If you are not hospitalized, you can make what's called a prehospital DNR order to keep nearby in case paramedics are called to your home or care facility.

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