Living Will: How Seniors Can Plan for Future Healthcare Decisions
Imagine living each day knowing your future healthcare decisions are in your hands. What if a sudden medical crisis left you unable to speak for yourself?
Allara in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, offers everything you need to live a vibrant life. A living will ensures you can enjoy every moment without worrying about what will happen if the unexpected occurs. Without one, doctors or family members may be forced to make difficult decisions on your behalf, unsure of your true wishes.
A key part of estate planning for seniors, a living will outlines your preferences for medical treatment. It provides clarity and spares your family from difficult, uncertain decisions during a crisis.
Take control of your future today. Learn more about one of the most important senior legal documents designed to give you peace of mind.
What Is a Living Will?
A living will helps your caregivers understand your medical treatment preferences if you become unable to communicate. Living wills are one of the most common types of advance directives. They allow you to decide in advance the care you want -- or do not want -- during serious medical situations.
Research from the National Institute on Aging shows that people who discuss their future medical treatment and create a plan are more likely to receive the care they want. Advance end-of-life planning may help family members cope with grief and reduce feelings of burden, guilt, and depression.
A living will typically includes:
- Resuscitation preferences
- Ventilation instructions
- Tube feeding decisions
- Pain management
- Organ donation wishes
While a living will provides clear medical instructions, it doesn't assign decision-making authority to another person. For that, a healthcare power of attorney is required.
Explaining Advance Directives and Other Legal Documents
A living will is just one part of end-of-life planning. Several other legal documents guide medical decisions and are sometimes confused with living wills. Each serves a unique purpose.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
This assigns a trusted person to make medical decisions if someone becomes incapacitated. Unlike a living will, which outlines specific treatment preferences, this document gives decision-making authority to another individual.
Durable Power of Attorney
This covers financial matters, not medical care. Some people assume this document includes healthcare decisions, but you'll need a separate healthcare power of attorney for that.
DNR Order
If your heart stops or you stop breathing, your medical team will perform CPR. Many seniors prefer not to have CPR, so they sign a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order. A DNR order is a doctor's order, not a legal document created by the patient.
POLST Form
This is a medical order used by individuals with serious illnesses that specifies which life-sustaining treatments they want or do not want in an emergency. Unlike a living will, a Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) is completed with a doctor and becomes part of a patient's medical record.
The first three documents are considered advance directives. POLST isn't an advance directive but is a legal document.
Why Seniors Should Consider a Living Will
Most older adults live with at least one chronic health condition, and many have multiple. According to the National Council on Aging (NCOA), 94.9% of adults over 60 manage at least one condition. Among these, dementia and Alzheimer's disease are especially concerning because they can slowly take away a person's ability to make and communicate decisions.
A living will ensures that medical choices reflect personal values, even when someone can no longer express them. If you have a loved one in memory care, this becomes even more critical.
A living will removes uncertainty. It also helps prevent unwanted treatments, like prolonged ventilation or feeding tubes, when they don't align with personal preferences.
California has specific legal requirements for advanced directives, including proper signing and witnessing. Working with an attorney who specializes in estate planning for seniors in Rancho Cucamonga helps seniors create a legally valid document that fits into a broader healthcare and financial plan.
Creating a Legally Sound Living Will
A living will gives clear guidance on medical care when speaking up is no longer possible. Thoughtful planning can ease difficult moments for you, your family, and your assisted living caregivers:
- Choose preferred medical treatments
- Decide on life-sustaining care
- Have conversations with doctors
- Meet with an estate planning attorney
- Complete state-approved documents
- Give copies to trusted loved ones
- Store safely and review regularly
You may need to consider treatments like ventilators, feeding tubes, and resuscitation, as well as your overall care goals. Speaking with healthcare providers and legal professionals helps avoid complications under California law.
Once completed, the document should be in the hands of those who will honor and respect these decisions. If you're part of the assisted living community here at Allara, make sure to include copies for our staff.
Common Misconceptions About Living Wills
Misunderstandings about living wills prevent many people from putting one in place. We want to clear up some of the myths so you feel more confident about making decisions for your future care.
You may have heard that living wills are only for those with a terminal illness. The truth is they apply to anyone who loses the ability to communicate due to dementia, a stroke, or other serious health conditions.
Some people think a living will is permanent. That's not true! You can update your living will at any time to reflect your changing wishes.
A living will is just one piece of estate planning and it covers your medical care. Last wills and trusts direct how you pass down your belongings and how you manage your assets over time. Your estate planning attorney is your best resource for making sure you have the proper advance directives and other senior legal documents in place.
Ready to Live Life to the Fullest?
A living will gives you control over your future medical care, offers peace of mind, and allows you to focus on enjoying life.
At Allara in Rancho Cucamonga, residents do just that through Vibrant Life®, a program designed to keep them active and connected. From social gatherings to wellness activities and family traditions, we focus on helping residents create meaningful experiences every day. Planning for the future is important, but so is embracing the present.
Explore our amenities and contact us to learn how our community supports security and a fulfilling lifestyle.