What Is a Living Will or Advanced Healthcare Directive?

At some point, you have probably been asked, usually by a health care provider, whether you have an “advanced healthcare directive”.  For many people, that term is confusing even if they have actually completed some form that might qualify as an “advanced healthcare directive.”  That’s because “advanced health care directive” is a very general term for a document that expresses your preferences about future medical treatment if you should become unable to communicate those preferences at the time yourself.  

Alternatively, you may have heard of a “living will”.  A living will is one version of advanced health care directive, though the terms are frequently used interchangeably.    

You may also have a general understanding of advanced healthcare directives or living wills from various sources, including interchanges with friends and family.  You should know that not every State treats these documents as having the same legal weight as Powers of Attorney for Healthcare Decisions.  In the State of Michigan, for example, Powers of Attorney for Healthcare Decisions are legally recognized and enforceable documents, but living wills and other forms of advanced healthcare directives are not.

All that said, what are they and why might they still be useful?

Preferences Regarding Medical Treatment

People of all ages face the possibility of medical crises in which they are unable to communicate their preferences.  Because medical providers are held to certain standards of treatment, they will do what those standards dictate to allow you to survive the crisis and thrive afterwards, even if you can’t tell them at the time that you want them to do exactly that. Oftentimes, these treatments include what are called “extraordinary measures.”   

Some examples of extraordinary measures include resuscitation, intubation, and feeding tubes.  Depending on your circumstances, these treatments may be exactly what you want done under the circumstances.  The hope is always that you will indeed both survive and thrive after the medical crisis.

However, sometimes, they may NOT be what you want.  For example, many people do not want extraordinary measures taken to preserve their lives if a catastrophic injury is likely to result in extreme, long-term loss of mental and physical function.  Or, perhaps because of age or existing health conditions, people would prefer to avoid disruptive treatments that, in their circumstances, offer no longterm benefit.  Often, these preferences are thought of as quality-of-life decisions.

A living will or other advanced healthcare directive allows you to tell your healthcare providers, as well as the person(s) to whom you give power of attorney to make medical decisions on your behalf, what your preferences are. 

Those documents also offer the additional benefit of informing your family members of your preferences.  Oftentimes, people involve their families in discussing the terms.

How Are These Documents Different from Powers of Attorney for Healthcare Decisions?

A Power of Attorney for Healthcare Decisions (also known as a Medical Power of Attorney) is a document in which you designate someone to act as your agent – to speak and act on your behalf – so that good medical decisions can be made for you when you are unable to make those decisions for yourself.   This Power of Attorney gives your agent full legal authorization to deal with whatever healthcare providers may be involved when you have a medical crisis in which you cannot communicate your own preferences.  It also informs those providers that they should listen to and respect your authorized agent’s directives.   These Powers of Attorney have complete legal weight and act to preclude involving the probate court when the patient’s incapacity might otherwise require the court’s involvement in important medical decisions.  

By contrast, Advanced Healthcare Directives/Living Wills are documents that inform your providers and agents of your preferences. They allow the people who must make decisions for you in crisis circumstances to know and honor your preferences, as you stated them beforehand, if they seem right under those circumstances.  At the same time, they don’t have the same binding legal authority as the Power of Attorney,  which authorizes your agent to act sensibly on your behalf in all circumstances, whether or not anticipated.    

Contact Our Expert Attorneys Today

Our attorneys at Bassett Murray Law Group have decades of experience in advising clients regarding these valuable documents.  They will take the time to answer your questions and ensure your satisfaction.  Contact us at 734-930-9200 in Ann Arbor or 231-427-2292 for our Petoskey office or online to schedule a consultation.