National Institute on Aging
NIH United States
Updated: October 31st, 2022
A living will is an important part of advance care planning, which involves discussing and preparing for future health care decisions in the event you can’t make them.
These decisions are often put into legal documents called advance directives. A living will is one of the most common types of advance directives. The other common advance directive is called a durable power of attorney for health care, which names a person (called a health care proxy) who can make decisions on your behalf.
A living will is a legal document that tells doctors how you want to be treated if you cannot make your own decisions about emergency treatment. You can specify which common medical treatments or care you would want, which ones you would want to avoid, and under which conditions each of your choices applies. You should also talk with your health care proxy about your choices.
