4 Reasons NOT To Have A Living Will 

About 20 years ago my sister had no living will. She had a heat stroke and ended up in a coma after being found unconscious in her home. While my sister was in the hospital doctors told me she had no chance and should be taken off of life support. My brother and I were next of kin so we were told we could make the decision to have her taken off life support. I hesitated and said to at least give her a week or two. the doctor insisted she would be in what he called ventilator land and it would be very sad. About a week later my sister regained consciousness and the only thing she suffered was a drop foot. My sister told me she was meaning to have a living will drawn up and never got around to it. If my sister did have that living will she told me the way she wanted it written she'd have been taken off of life support. I'm not against the idea of a living will and they might be important but I just wanted to share that story.

About ten years back my sister came out of a coma after three months. My family was kind enough to keep her going until she recovered. She is still living. -) Thank you for the video and your kindness to explain it in layman terms.

It's such a relief to find a presenter who doesn't start with a long brand introduction video and then take forever to start with the good stuff.

Just wanted to add that I would give all of my legal work to this guy if he were in my state because hes clearly a caring person and will provide you with needed quality information. Thank you thank you thank you so much for these videos keep up the good work

Living wills are one of the most important gifts you can give your loved ones. My 34 sister had cancer and had a living will and ended up in a coma we were so grateful to know exactly what what she wanted.

As an Oncology RN, I’ve seen a plethora of scenarios: *One pt. w/ a pacemaker (set at 30/min) was artificially being kept alive for 3 weeks. His skin & ears were necrotic & falling off. This deeply traumatized the family. The doctor never told the family that it could have been turned off 3 weeks earlier. *One dying patient-who had loved ones at her bedside-were extremely traumatized by the Donor Company plucking her eyeballs out while she was still alive. *Make sure to sign a DNR well beforehand if you have terminal cancer, especially if you’re elderly. It’s sadistic to have a Code Blue team crack all of your ribs which causes excruciating pain. *Always make sure that you have a suction machine & suction supplies & never allow a doctor to D/C the NG Tube and/or suction machine if you’re dying. One patient began gushing dark liquid stool out of both nares (nose) & then her mouth because the doctor had discontinued the nasogastric tube & the suction machine. Her son was in the room when this was happening, & it’s unconscionably criminal for any doctor to do this. *Never agree to be placed on doses of Morphine that are going to cause you to slip into a coma until & unless you have seen your loved ones to be able to say goodbye to them. *If you decide to go on a Morphine drip, have the Pain Management Team do this during the DAY shift. One night shift doctor at the hospital discontinued ALL of the patient’s pain meds & placed him on an unconscionably insufficient dose of Morphine & the patient was in excruciating pain. That doctor was covering for the entire hospital & was completely unqualified & ignorant about pain management. He caused the patient atrociously needless suffering. *Hospice has been known to give a patient Morphine 25 mg (sublingual) which caused their immediate death. If someone is on an IV, they start you out on Morphine 5 mg/hour. Never allow Hospice to just “expediently get rid of your loved one”. *Never place anyone in charge who obstructs you from saying your goodbyes and exchange forgivenesses with everyone that you need to. Leave this earth with a clean slate & a clear conscience. It’s not only the patient to be concerned with, it’s everyone that needs closure. *Never judge for another if they can “take it” to be called to a dying person’s bedside. One wife & son weren’t going to call the patient’s daughter because she had MS (Multiple Sclerosis). But I told them to include her. She was the one who ended up the strongest of all of them. If they had excluded her, it would have caused life-long damage. Grieve all together. Don’t let someone else end up as the caboose in the death process. It causes profound harm. *Never allow the hospital or Skilled Nursing facility to use HIPAA laws to block your loved ones from visiting or guarding over you. HIPAA is notorious for causing elder abuse because they block your loved ones from saving your life-especially in cases of narcotic overdoses. It might not be an RN who is giving you narcotics, but a CNA who is not qualified to do proper medical assessments. *Most Skilled Nursing Facilities do not have the same high caliber RNs as the specialty RNs in hospitals. *Never allow a hospital to just transfer you to a Skilled Nursing Facility that your loved ones haven’t personally checked out beforehand. *Even in cases of blatant Elder Abuse by a hospital or a Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) where the District Attorney is involved, the District Attorney is criminal for not bringing justice to your loved one. They criminally protect Skilled Nursing Facility corporations instead. *Always have an attorney to protect your legal rights & sign this well-beforehand. *If you are dying, never think of using your death to punish someone. It causes you to have a horrible death. Don’t do it.

My Mother had a brain tumor removed. As it grew back little by little (inoperable a second time) she would have spells where she was out of her head. We would take her to ER & after a few days of treatment she would come back fine. We knew it was eventually going to take her but she came back each time in good shape. One of our trips to the ER a doctor covering for her doctor ask me how many times was I going to do this. I looked him square in the face and told him that as long as she comes back walking and talking, I will continue to bring her! He made me so angry. I told him that yesterday she was walking and talking and fixed her own lunch and as long as she comes back with some quality of life that is what I will do. If she had a living will they would have let her die! So, be very careful about putting your life in the hands of doctors. She wasn’t their Mother! And you can bet your bootie they would keep bringing their own Mother back. They see so much suffering and such that they get complacent about dying. I don’t want to lay in a bed with tubes & respirators but I want my children to make damn sure that there is no other way. I’m a Christian and I’m not afraid of dying. I just want to stay with my family as long as my health will let me.

A living will applies to everyone except a husband or wife. My wife had to undergo brain surgery to stabilize 4 intact aneurysms to prevent them from bursting. She signed a "living will" prior to those 3 seperate surgeries. She came through those like a champ. During her recovery in the ICU she 4 days later had her small intestine burst inside her body and I was called at 2 am in the morning as to whether I her husband would allow them the perform life saving surgery to remove a large portion of her small intestine. It would involve placing a breathing/feeding tube and other life support for her to have any chance of survival. I made the call to over ride that living will. Even though she never regained consionousness from the bowel surgery. I feel I made the right decision, giving her one last shot at life. It was a damned if you do, damned if you don't decision, but in my heart and under the circumstances I was given, I feel good about the decision I made.

My father had a Living Will. It was contingent on his quality of life, not necessarily that he would survive. He didn’t want any heroic measures, not even hydration, if there wasn’t a chance of good quality of life. I’m grateful he did this, because I may have not been able to.

I'm very pleased that I came across this video today. Last time I went to the hospital they put unreasonable pressure on me to sign a living will. The more they pressured me, the more certain I was that I did not want to sign it. They said we will crush your chest trying to revive you, do you want that? It was awful, but I did not sign it and you have explained it to me enough so that I know I was right to refuse. The hospitals around here pressure people each time they go to the hospital. Something about that doesn't seem right to me. Thank you.

Thank you for clarifying “Living Will” and what it means. All you hear today is, “you need a living will” but they never tell you WHY. This details the meanings of it. It helps me to make an informed decision. I’m saving all of your videos about the wills, power of attorneys, trusts, executor, etc. I need to go through them one at a time without losing track of them or need to refer back to them, and to share with my husband. We are in our 70’s, and our need to get this taken care of, has slapped us in the face. We do not live forever, and we are not going to get out of this alive. This will make it easier for us to get done what we want and need to be handled.

Thank you because you literally broke it down for anyone who’s not a lawyer. Great content and I appreciate your service and thank you for not charging us. You are such a blessing 🌻🙏🏻🌻

I have a very bitter experience 17 years ago fell into the " miracleous" recovery experience of my spouse. It was a 2 weeks comatose period of brain hemorrhage, during that time a young physician was so eager to pull the plug he went so far as saying they have the authority to pull the plug if the patient was homeless (poor homeless souls)! On top of the gut wrenching worry, 24 hours vigilance and numerous insurance feedbacks, I had to fight this God figure! Thank God we didn't have that piece of legal document literally signing one's life away and eventually the real God is finally on our side! We live in a culture of worshipping authority while surrendering our own inborn power to listen to our intuition. It was a small victory but a giant wake up call for me! Thanks for your advice to the public.

Thanks for this video. You made me realize that what I want was a “Medical Power of Attorney”. 😊

It's more important to make sure you have selected someone who know what you want in no uncertain terms. My parents selected different children to make decisions for them based on which one of us understood their wants the most. It wasnt a drama thing. We all knew who and why for both of them. No dilemmas. The danger is not talking about what you want.

Unfortunately, many family members are incapable of making a decision. They will keep someone alive at all cost no matter how poor the quality of life.

Actually this information gives me the idea that a living Will is the correct thing for me to do. Being an older single person. Again Thank You.

We had a living will for my parents. One of the best decisions we made. I would suggest most families do it.

My mother in law had a living will because she was put on palliative care. It enabled her to feel reassured that the medical professionals would honour her preferences for palliative care and how things were going to end and who could help her when she was not mentally capable. I was sadly that person and was there when she died and I was able to ensure she wasn’t poked and prodded or when her heart stopped they wouldn’t try to resuscitate her. They just ensured that she wasn’t dehydrated which was a fear for her. She had bowel ischaemia, an enlarged heart and secondary breast cancer which had also spread to the lungs and was 86. She was in constant pain except when she was drugged up with morphine. As soon as the doctor at the hospital said that she was dying it was as if she heard him and she died. I saw the heart monitor slow right down and then stop. I was able to say goodbye to her and be with her throughout. I still miss her very much. Sometimes it’s a good idea.

I was an ICU nurse. I have a living will. I know the tests they have to do to decide you are in a vegetative state. I absolutely know that the doctors do not want to pull the plug when there is any chance of life. I have informed my family of my decisions also. Everyone is on board with my wishes.

Be informed! Excellent video asking viewers to reflect on four ideas before jumping on the living will bandwagon and signing away, as if our life is lived checking boxes. Most relevant to me is the warning that a living will takes choice away from family and gives a directive to medical professionals, who themselves are making an evaluative decision. Do I want a stranger ending all hope right now, or would I rather give family some time to listen and think and then pull the plug? Well, for others, it depends on who their family is and whether they're able to think lovingly and rationally in a tough moment.

As a medical person, my one advice would be if you have a large family, get a Living Will, especially if you are fifty or older. I have seen families torn apart on trying to decide "What" you would have wanted and if all the family members don't agree, you can be kept alive, almost forever. There truly are worse things than death. We're all going to die, it's just a fact. Let your family members know your wishes and assign one person. Choose wisely, If "You" decide before hand, then that "burden" isn't placed on the family. I'm sure the laws are slightly different for each State. My state lets you choose a spokesperson in writing to make your wishes, if you are unable to make this decision. I love listening to your legal advice, especially about Estate Wills. Thanks so much for your time.

I love this guy, hes so informative. stuff that people really need to know. When you get a so called free consultation with an attorney for this stuff they don't want to give you the time of day until you're slapping down the dollar.How are you Supposed to Trust That you have the right attorney For the job without asking them questions & spending a little time with them to get a sense of who they are so you can decide if they are the right attorney for your needs

I am in 🇨🇦 & my Father is in hospital ... they r filling him full of drugs, which his body can not handle... tryin to get a diff doctor & get him moved... if u r in cdn... get a personal directive, so that someone can speak on ur behalf... hospitals & doctors i no longer trust to have 'our' or our loved ones best interest at heart. THANK U ALL for telling loved ones & ur own stories... this is how we make chg & help others by sharing our experiences & those of our loved ones.. Knowledge is power!! Blessings to everyone!

Excellent video. My wife and I destroyed our living wills. We kept our health care powers of attorney, however.

There is so much pressure these days to sign living wills. Thanks for providing valuable insights into why they may actually _not_ be appropriate for everyone in every circumstance.

Two points: First, talk to your family about your wishes. When Oregon passed their living-will law, my mom got a copy and filled it out but forgot to sign it. Luckily she had discussed it with me and I knew what she wanted and why. When the time came, I was able to carry out her wishes. (It hurt like hell but I'm at peace with it.) Second, my living only comes into effect if my wife is dead, otherwise it is my wife's choice. Being in our 70s, we do an annual update of "move'n on" plans.

I have a "Power of Attorney for Health Care" that puts my designated person (family member or someone else) in charge for all medical decisions when I am not able to make that decision. It also includes a secondary person if the primary person is unavailable. I would never put a doctor in charge for making that decision. I have seen way too many times where a doctor will choose to do many unnecessary tests on the person after they have no chance of survival because the hospital makes money from all those tests through Medicare. Let the dead die in peace.

Our bachelor wealthy uncle who was a part of our family, passed unprepared and sudden. Four years in court battling our rights to inheritance, us vs. state. His sister, my MIL, immediately started working on her own will, seeing the disaster we were going through. Thank goodness she did. We lost her last year. No trouble with the estate etc. My husband did his, and I am working on mine, for our kids.

Thank you for your comments. I'm a big fan of Living Wills, BUT I very much appreciate the points you make. It's good for a person to be fully informed.

Every time my spouse and I go to the doctor - the question is asked about do we have a living will. It may be a mandatory Medicare questions... I'm not sure. I prefer my health care proxy to follow pre-discussed options... so I keep saying no ... Appreciated this video because it is exactly how we personally feel.

I'm an ICU RN and I've seen every horror story that comes with not having a Living Well (also known as an Advance Directive or Directive to Physician). The video did a good job of explaining when a Living Will is not for you. If you do want a Living Will make sure your guardian is the person who will honor your wishes. That is not necessarily you closest relative. They need to be strong enough to stand firm if others have questions. TALK about your Living Will! Tell everyone involved: spouse, children, parents, sibling, the local dog catcher, what your wishes are and who will be your guardians. Be clear, open, loving. The families who say "Daddy told us what he wanted and that's what we're gonna do." have one less issue to deal with at this difficult time. Your family will remember you telling them what you want and can be proud of doing it; if you do get a Living Will seeing your wishes in writing will also help your family. Everybody have a good day!

What is the difference between: A) Will B) Living Will C) Trust D) Revocable Trust E) Estate Planner F) Probate G) Last will and testament I trying to find out which one I need, maybe you can make a video on these.

A living will, like any other legal document, is something that needs to be revisited on a regular basis. As he said, science and technology change. Sometimes rapidly. Sometimes slowly. Either way, periodically check up, and/or change, your living will.

I think you putting this type of information and your other videos that you’ve done out there for people to hear and listen, and play it over if we need to, to understand all the stuff is phenomenal thank you for doing this.

I’m an attorney in Arizona. I mention these types of concerns in all of my consultations. Living wills can be useful, but you have to use them right.

Thank you for making such great helpful videos, we are recently retired and have gone though the process of taking care of the estate and our health directives, it can be really confusing. As far as living well, we do not have one instead we have medical POA on each other with one of our sons as an alternate in the case neither of us can speak for ourselves, this seem like a much better option. I live in PA and our medical POA give some wiggle room to your POA as to how to apply you wishes. I had medical POA for my father who lived to be 94 mostly in good health, near his end I was able to be involved with his care and was able to help him makes is end of life decisions along with his doctors. Funny though in the end he told the doctors to buzz off, he was ready to go...

When the family will not let someone die, it is so hard on the health care workers. My daughter sometimes has patients that code a number of times and she has to perform cpr repeatedly to save them, only to have to do it again the next day. I am much more concerned about being kept alive way too long by our advanced medical system.

🙏My mama and I have spoken over year's, what our wishes have always been/are. She has never gotten written up and we finally got "Power of Health" It is so important for the whole family to know your wishes. The rest of my family never knew my mama's wishes. It was a HUGE SURPRISE to them. Papers need to be drawn up.🙏 I just happen to be trying to figure out the difference with WILLS and Trusts. Thank you, so much for your time and informative videos. God Bless

When you have been noted as DNR most of the time this decision negates a "living will" . The living will is letting doctor know who is in charge of the decisions already made by the "patient".

Great advice as was the simple legal Will video you put out. They really helped me out as I’ve already told everyone what’s happening and now I can put it in a letter and have it witnessed and notarized. One less thing to deal with.

We are in our sixties now, but In our forties when we did our estate planning my husband signed a living will. I refused even though my attorney looked at me like I was crazy. Our daughter is a nurse and she will be making the final call for now. I have spoken to her and she knows exactly when I would want to be “unplugged”. Maybe in my 80’s I’ll sign one.

The title "Living Will" raises some confusion. It is better to adopt the increasingly used title of "Future Intention".

My mother had a Living Will and informed me of what she wanted. This was fortunate because when it was needed after a series of strokes we could not find it and it wasn’t registered anywhere. Christmas Eve she had a final stroke which took the last of my mother and left a shell. I prayed for a miracle for four months then had to make the decision to take her off food and water. She passed four days later. As I stood outside the Nursing home I felt a little breeze dance around me and go along it’s way. I think it was my mother telling me she was happy and free. I live in Oregon. I will exercise my right to die if conscious, and have a Living will, no family, only dear ones who know my desires.

Thank you for the info but I do have a living will, #1 I don’t want my Children burdened with the decision of when to pull the plug, and #2 I don’t want to stay on life support and eat up my Children’s inheritance. At 65 years of age, I’m so tired I could go to ‘rest’ at any time, I’m good! 😉

nice job on accenting the "be informed" aspect......it's something far too few people stop to do before making decisions

Unfortunately, I do not trust the medical profession on the same level as I did pre-pandemic. And I am a medical professional.

I gotta hand it to you sir. This video discussion was like "walking a tightrope". And think you negotiated through it pretty well.

Excellent information to consider. I just changed my mind about signing a Living Will. I'll stick with the healthcare POA.

I am in indiana, and was once a cna. This is a topic of great importance. So glad you are covering it. Thank you

Hospitals get paid a set amount of money per admission. They don’t want you to stay longer than the average stay for that diagnosis. Follow the money.

I don't want my husband or daughter to feel the guilt associated with pulling the plug. I opt for the medical professionals to make that decision. I also don't want them lingering on for a hopeless case. If it comes to that, I want them to have closure. But this is a good video to understand the gravity of the decision.

Decide how you want to be treated at your end of life. Do not be afraid of the decision and do not leave it up to an already distraught friend or family member. They will thank you for it.

I appreciate you sharing your time and talent. (TX) Thanks

Thank you for this video explaining the living will. I got a living will a few years ago for the purpose of making sure my children would get my assets but after listening to your video I went back to read mine and sure enough, I signed where doctors would have control if I can't make decisions and no nutrition or water! That is not what I want, is there a way I can change that?

I don't know why this came up in my feed, but I have always felt this way. I have never signed a living will because I want an actual human who cares about me to make an informed decision regarding that issue.

My father wanted nutrition and hydration in his living will but his medical power of attorney had the nursing home give him an overdose of morphine to end his life because she found it too much of a burden to keep up being his estate executor...esp. when there was money to be had. My father's pupils were tiny dots and he begged me to help him but it was not to be because grandchildren talked him out of his money. The grandchildren (medical power of attorney) had cleaned his room of all personal affects over a week before he died and he knew his hours were limited on this earth. The medical community cannot be sued for an overdose of pain medication because this topic was decided by the US Supreme Court years ago...and they say there is no euthanasia in the USA. Hogwash!

A living will takes the guilt off your love ones. The most important form is to designate a good healthcare surrogate. I have been a nurse for over 40 years in florida.

I know it's been three years since this was published, but I want to say thank you, anyway. God can take care of the delivery. Outstanding analysis of the real life consequences of the document. I am very grateful.

My father and my mother both suffered from dimentia and eventually died from heart failure. They were in and out of hospitals and nursing homes which came with devastating bills. They both had living wills and I'm glad they did. Should either one of them had ended up on life support, I would not want to live with the thought of my brother or myself making that decision. I don't want to sound cold, but this was their choice and I think they did the right thing, including requesting a DNR, not to have CPR performed on them. I feel as though it is equally cruel to prolong the inevitable in our case. They both lived good, long lives and needed to rest as I would like to when I get there.

My doctor’s office gave me the paperwork to sign on the very first visit....I found that a tad weird since it was my first visit.....but filled it out like a good little sheep. I have a lot of respect for what you do so I am really listening to this. Thank you! Maybe I should have taken the time to discuss with my loved ones first.....

If you want the doc to pull the plug, a living will is the only way to make it happen. Plus it doesn’t force your family to have to make such a decision.

In dealing with my husbands recent passing, I am forever thankful for educating me on “ portability”.

This video gave me another point of view from which to look at things. I am glad I watched. Thanks for such valuable information and insight. Nowadays, folks' organs are being removed without family members of the deceased patient knowing. When it comes to 2 doctors making such an end of life decision, I can see where a living will could contribute to a case of conflicting interest because there is more financial gain from a dead person than a living one.

Thank you for taking on this potentially controversial subject. Your video informs me as intended and gives me the opportunity to inform my family and loved ones on the subject and my wishes. I’m in the long procrastinated effort of estate planning and finding other videos of yours equally compelling.

Just now seeing this video. Thank you for making me sit here and really think about what I've signed. Insurance companies dictate much of what goes on in all hospitals, and I do feel that that kind of decision would be made too quickly by the doctors. I've heard about and read many, many stories where in just a few days someone recovered after having doctors proclaim they're too far gone.

Thank You, setting up papers with my mom now, sheds new life on the matter.

Agreed. If my partner had the original intent written in a living will, he would not have enjoyed an additional 5 yrs of life. But a patient advocate that can make hard decisions at the time is where the burden lies.

Thank you for the thought provoking info. I will tear mine up. I want my kids to take their time to decide for me, not some doctors l don't know.

I am a nurse. Believe this man. You don't want to have a stranger making decisions about your end of life. The people who love you may need a day or so to discuss and to make informed decisions if you trust them. The medical professionals need to do their part in keeping you comfortable and saving your organs in case you need them or your family donates then (donation needs to be discussed while you are well!)

When I made decisions for my mother as she died in 1999, I became convinced that a living will was not a good thing. I had her medical power of attourney. We had spoken about her final wishes and I ignored them. She said she would always want to be on a ventilator, but neither of us imagined what the end of her life would be. As I contemplated a DNR for her a friend who was a hospice nurse told me I was not prolonging her life; I was prolonging her death. I won't go into the medical details, which were grusome, but it was clear she was not going to recover. Thanks for confirming what I have believed for over 24 years.

My situation is not so drastic (yet) I am in good health for 75 years age but being that we never know what tomorrow may bring I am interested in providing for my only son his wife and my grandson. I only own a house a truck a car and several thousand buck worth of musical gear, a traktor and other tools. Not much at all but I have recently seen that legalities get out of hand when my elder brother passed away last year. God Bless us all to keep us as far away from allowing burdens to manifest on our loved ones. Thanks for the video.

This is what I Love about your videos ... You Educate, not brow beat information, on a normal persons level. Thanks Again for All you do EYL Chris from Chicago ❤

Very nicely presented devil’s advocate discussion on the topic. Got some really good ‘hmmmmm’ moments out of it, it’s like having a winged rosy cheeked Paul on your shoulder whispering in your ear lol. Thanks as always Paul.

I agree with you wholeheartedly. The last time I was in the hospital they peer pressure me so much to sign one I did not! And also wanted me to sign a “do not resuscitate” , order I did not. I’m only 70 years old. I live alone I am very active. Nobody assist me. I believe The only reason they wanted me to do that is because I have an aneurysm. They kept telling me you have lived a long life. Signed the papers!

I’ve been in the hospital several times during my life and they’ve never asked me if I had a living will. My mom passed away after a long illness and I decided I should have one. I signed the papers. Last year I contracted coronavirus and I was hospitalized. I was so scared and extremely ill, but I needed to research the treatments they told me I ‘must’ authorize if I wanted to survive it. I quickly realized that I may die and probably would not survive the ill effects of the treatment, so I decided not to take it making the doctors seriously angry to my surprise. After I refused treatment, they took me back to my room and they asked me if I had a living will. This terrified me! I told them I didn’t want the living will and I put it in writing sending copies of my desire to vacate the will to a couple of friends. Just something to think about… the end could come a lot sooner than you think. Thank you for the video.

Very thoughtful and meaningful presentation as are all of your daily videos.

power of attorney for health care, is crucial. Living will is for someone on their death bed.

I was/am the trustee of dad's Revocable Living Trust. It was set up with a knowledgeable attorney. I and my brothers were as one. Any difficult decisions had to have a mutual agreement. Three votes, three yesses. The will was expressed there, plus separate documents that jived with the RLT. With competent advice, minor issues were handled. I and my brothers were as one. The RLT was a great help for us. This RLT was set up nicely. It was smooth for us. Our thanks to Ms. Wade.

I already have a living will and persons for health power of attorney. I read some comments from others who refuse to do so for reasons I disagree with. It's not about what I want for you, not about what doctors want for you, not about what nurses want for you, not about what family wants for you it's about what you want for you. Want it, get it. Want to refuse it, refuse it.

durable power of attorney. with some one you trust implicitly, does not have to be spouse or kids. doctors don't know everything. they have been wrong.

I want the doctors to keep me alive by any means necessary. I want to keep my family members the heck away from me. I want them to have absolutely NO right to make ANY decision in regards to me. Can a living will make sure that happens?

I'm very fortunate in that I have an orthopedic surgeon as a son and medical executor. He knows my personal wishes and we've talked about specifics in medical conditions. And he knows how to separate the mom/son Relationship to do what needs to be done.

I went to Legal Zoom and got my will. Very simple to do.

Lots to consider...thank you for putting this info forth...also makes me consider how a Living Will might impact an at-home hospice situation...great video.

Lots of people in deep comas have reported they were often aware and could hear, but they couldn't move or speak and yet had no brain activity or very low activity if it is measured at all. It is the cruelest thing to do if you let them die from thirst and hunger and they were aware of it. My son is a doctor and knows my wishes. If after a certain time I'm not going to make it, first monitor my brain and make sure I'm not here and turn off lifesaving machines, but in no case is he to starve me to death.

Very informative. Thank you so much! I noticed here lately when I just made an appointment for a mammogram, the scheduler asked me did I have a living will! When asked that question I usually just say yes just to move on with it. Otherwise you go through "their" explanation of why you need one, what is in one, etc.!

Excellent video. I am a chaplain in the hospital and see this all the time. Living Will: The document speaks for you. HCPOA your agents speak for you if you cant. I have not seen, however, where the doctors will read the living will and say we are taking grandma off life support because her living will says so. Family will be consulted. No MD wants to be that rigid. Just my experience.

I think a better title for this video would have been, “make sure you understand the ramifications of your decision prior to signing.” I and only I have the right to decide what’s going to happen to me in those circumstances; not my spouse, or my children. That’s the whole point of a living will !!

Great info ! I will reconsider my living will. Thanks

Hi, I just wanted to say that I do understand and agree that you should be sure you understand what yor signing be informed of all the aspects of the Living will before signing.I have been asked by the hospital if I have one quite a few times and I kept putting it off now I'm glad I did after watching this video.

I was my mother's medical POA and she had a living will. She had told me a few years before that under no circumstance did she want a feeding tube. She actually said this very sternly to me to make me understand. Then she signed a living will with her lawyer. She never sat down with me to go over this document. I highly recommend you go over in detail with your medical POA and read it together to discuss different scenarios that might happen. My mom was diagnosed with leukemia and within minutes of the diagnosis they had her on treatment that within a few hours she was unable to speak for herself. I had to give Drs permission for dialysis that day, then chemo , then that caused a stroke and I was asked to authorize a feeding tube. I had each dr read the living will with each authorization as I wanted to follow the document but I almost hada breakdown because of what my mom had told me years earlier. I wish we had a conversation about the details in her living will. At times I wish she didn't have one but it also helped me to make the hardest decisions of my life. Don't be afraid to ask the drs and nurses for guidance.

My nephew was on life support and the Dr' said there was no hope of him recovering and we were going to take him off life support and let him go. (There was no brain activity at all) So we were waiting for the last family member to arrive to say goodbye. Then, all the sudden, the Dr's wanted a consultation with us. It turned out that they had given him too much of a medicine and that it paralyzed his brain or something like that. When they discovered the error, they gave him something to counteract it and he woke up. He lived a few years after that and was bright and attentive, still able to enjoy life. My clinic is occasionally giving me the forms to fill out and I just won't do it. I told my kids to give me a couple weeks ....I may change that to 4 weeks. I just don't trust the idea of signing that and letting Dr's decide if I live or die. They do make mistakes as in the case of my nephew. They are only human and yeah, I would worry about someone with better insurance needing my bed or as one person suggested the testing they do on people, that doesn't sound good. Or someone needing a heart or liver or? Too much crime and yes, it is in our medical world also unfortunately.

My mother was declared dead in the hospital and my brother started doing the paperwork. As he was signing the forms, my mother walked out of her room and asked where her purse was at.

Thank you for this VERY INFORMATIVE VIDEO. My doctor highly recommended I sign a Living Will. After viewing this video, it spells out the ramifications of signing this document, which was never explained to me. If ever I am in a position of being very ill with no hope of recovery, I trust my family to make that decision.

As a health care professional, there are some doctors are talking to the family, some doctors say this is it and sign the hospital form, and have your best interest in mind, and don’t talk to the family, some family’s have conflict over a decision or are not really involved and so the doctors are do what they feel would be the best. Some doctors make it their life’s goal to save everyone, no matter what and it may be a fight to shut things down because the doctor can’t except that eventually we all die. I, being a health care professional for many years, have made all my children aware of my wants for end of life care! There won’t be conflict between them, they where brought up with my exasperation over stories of doctors and family’s and when there is no longer hope. All of my children know what I want and are prepared as a family to go through with my decisions because of growing up in a house where their mother saw these situations unfold daily in a hospital and talked about it through their lives. Giving a living will in the hospital just increases the chances of the family that choice, although with some doctors, they still may need to fight.

IF I AM DYING AND KNOW IT THERE IS NO HOSPITAL HOLDING ME I AM LEAVING AND WILL GO WHERE I PLEASE AND DIE IN PEACE.

I've been a nurse for over 40 years. I see many errors in your reasoning: 1. It is very rare for '2 doctors to agree a condition is incurable". I have seen pt's in such a state of health that only machines are keeping them alive and they have been tested and found to be 'brain dead'. And STILL the doctors won't certify incurable. 2. I have had pt's with a living will that the family has over road. The pt has stated and signed they do not want to be resusitated, intubated, chest compressions, etc, but the family states, "Do it", and we have to do it. 3. I do believe in living wills, but the signer needs to be educated on all aspects of it. And be prepared to follow through. If you sign it when your young but then change your mind, you can change your living will. The first time you sign one is not etched in stone. As you get older, have loved ones die, get sick, etc, you will become more aware of the dying and recovering process. Take that knowledge to use in modifing your living will. 4. But most of all, (will I offend you), know what the future holds when you do die. Are you one with your beliefs? If you believe in God and an afterlife, are you in synch with Him and His Son? For me, I'm not afraid of death. It comes to everyone; we just don't know when. Plan your life but be prepared daily that it might end that day. Enough said.

Thank you for the detailed information, because my late father used to say Living Will is tantamount to Leaving Will. He never had one . Because he always came around after being sick even after his terrifying Near Death.

All legal documents concerning end of life issues should be reviewed at least annually. Life is fluid, and many changes usually occur after ducoments are prepared but before they are implemented. Documents don’t change when there is a need for change though, unless we change them.