Estate Planning Lawyer

When planning your estate for the future, there are many legal options to consider. Wills, trusts, and other estate planning measures can help prepare you and your family for a time after you have passed away. Each of these legal tools offers unique advantages. One estate planning tool in particular, a living will, can help you clarify your choices if you ever become incapacitated. Under the law, a living will needs to include certain elements, so it is important that your will is carefully drafted. After reading the information below, contact an estate planning lawyer in Fairfield County, CT to help you create your estate plan.

What Is a Living Will?

Sometimes known as advanced health care directives, a living will helps you plan for the future. A living will is a legal document in which you can explain the medical care you would like to receive in the event you become incapacitated and cannot make a decision in the moment. With a living will, you can specify the treatments you are willing to undergo in certain situations.

Commonly, living wills include directives to doctors and other health care providers about end-of-life treatments. Typically, a living will authorizes care providers to use life-saving measures, or to prohibit such measures, if you are in a terminal situation. With the help of skilled estate planning attorney, you can tailor your living will to your specific needs. State law grants each resident the right to give instructions about their health care. With your living will, you are giving your instructions before they are needed to help prevent any miscommunication when it matters most.

Advantages of a Living Will

A major advantage of a living will is that it allows you to create a voice for yourself in the event that you will not be able to speak up in the future. It may be difficult to contemplate a time when you are incapacitated and unable to make a medical decision for yourself. With a living will, you can preempt those decisions by choosing your course of medical treatment ahead of time.

Another advantage to a living will is proving peace of mind for your family. Often, family members are left responsible making life or death decisions without knowing what their loved one’s wishes are. Conversely, many family members do know what their loved one’s wishes are but may not agree with those decisions. Your living will can clarify your wishes and relieve your family of the burden of such an emotional decision.   

Thanks to our friends and contributors from Sweeney Legal for their insight into estate planning.