Will Forms
A living will is not something that most people would think of creating as most people expect to die, but not to be affected in any way that might incapacitate them. Unfortunately, accidents are a reality in life. In 2004, the Terry Sciavo case made headlines as the family of a woman who had been in a vegetative state for over ten years had to make the heart-wrenching decision to take her off life support. This case catapulted the awareness of the living will to new heights. Although the Schiavo case was a tragic and unfortunate event, it helped many others to realize the importance of a living will. A living will is not the same as the last will and because of the simple nature of the form, it is widely available to everyone without having to go through the hassles of retaining an attorney to create your living will.
Living wills are readily available through the internet and in many cases, they are free to download and print out. Because these living wills are not complex in nature, many of these printable versions are available for free. You can easily access free living will forms by typing in “free living will form” into the search engine of the internet. Some of the more popular sites that offer free living will forms are doyourownwill.com, lectlaw.com, hov.org, free-legal-document.com and caringinfo.org. Once you are on the site, you must navigate to the free living will form that is right for you by clicking on your state. The free living will form will differ from state to state as each state will have their own guidelines to which the free living will form must follow in order to be valid. Therefore it is very important that you print out the state that you are a resident of. Free living will forms will ask you different questions depending on what state you reside in. Some of these questions may include what organs and body parts you would want to donate and for what purpose you would want to donate your organs and body parts for. Another question that is almost universal on all free living will forms relates to the question of pain management. They may ask if you wish to continue being treated for your pain even in the case that it may hasten your death. The main question is of course, the end of life decision. The free living will forms will ask you whether or not you choose to prolong your life and what methods you choose or do not choose to have administered. In the event that you may go into cardiac arrest, would you want to be resuscitated? In order for you to finalize and validate this free living will form, it must be signed and dated by you and two witnesses, or acknowledged by a notary public. Forms of validation may vary slightly from state to state, but in any case, you will want go a copy of your free living will form to your physician, any other health care providers you may have, any health care institution you may be receiving care, and any other health care agent you may have named.
These questions on free living will forms are very important. In the event that you become incapacitated and can no longer speak for yourself, free living will forms will speak for you. It is free and it is easily accessible. It is hard to find a reason why everyone should not have a free living will, but still, some people will not fill one out. Do not be part of the population who is unprepared to communicate your wishes when you no longer have the ability to.