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Do It Yourself Living Will |
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DO IT YOURSELF: LIVING WILL (FOR NEW YORK RESIDENTS ONLY)
What is a living will? The living will, as its name indicates, unlike a will, operates while a person is still alive. It usually comes into play when a person cannot make decisions for himself/herself. Often the person has been involved in a serious accident, which has left them comatose and/or brain-dead. This document expresses their wishes in such a case.
For example, one may not wish to burden their family by being put on permanent life support if there is no hope for one’s recovery. The document usually comes into play when the person has no chance of recovery from accident and/or illness. Health care proxies often refer to living wills. Frequently, a person may request that they be given pain medication even though they are incapacitated. There are special requirements in New York with respect to a writer who wishes to forego artificial nutrition and/or hydration. The living will concerns itself with the issue of “what” is to be done when a person is incapacitated with no hope of recovery.
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