• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • Attorney and Staff Profiles
  • Services
    • Asset Protection & Business Planning
    • Elder Law & Medicaid Services
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Estate Planning Services
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Legacy Planning
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Pet Planning
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Trust Administration & Probate
  • Elder Law
    • Coping With Alzheimer’s
    • Emergency Medicaid & Nursing Home Planning
    • Guardianship & Conservatorship
    • Hospice Care
    • Medicaid Planning
    • Veterans Benefits
  • Seminars
  • Areas We Serve
    • Ballwin
    • Chesterfield
    • Clayton
    • Creve Couer
    • Des Peres
    • Edwardsville
    • Fenton
    • Glen Carbon
    • Glendale
    • Kirkwood
    • Maryland Heights
    • Oakland
    • Sappington
    • St. Louis
    • Sunset Hills
    • Valley Park
    • Webster Groves
  • Resources
    • Asset Protection Worksheet
    • Elder Law Resources
      • Chesterfield Elder Law
      • Fenton Elder Law
      • Kirkwood Elder Law
      • Sunset Hills Elder Law
      • St. Louis Elder Law
      • St. Peters Elder Law
      • Webster Groves Elder Law
    • FREE Estate Planning Seminars
    • FREE Estate Planning Worksheet
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Estate Planning
      • Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Trust Administration & Probate
    • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
    • Medicaid Resources
    • Multimedia
    • Newsletters
    • Presentations
    • Pre Consultation Form
    • Probate Checklist
    • Probate Resources
    • Retirement Planning Checklist
    • Special Reports
      • Advanced Estate Planning
      • Basic Estate Planning
      • Estate Planning For Niches
      • Trust Administration
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

Amen, Gantner & Capriano | Your Estate Matters, L.L.C.

St. Louis Estate Planning & Elder Law Attorneys

Logo
CONNECT WITH US TODAY (314) 966-8077
ATTEND A FREE WEBINAR
Home / Estate Planning / What Is A Living Will?

What Is A Living Will?

August 28, 2014

Estate Planning, Incapacity Planning Tagged With: advance directive, living will

Throughout our lifetimes, we make thousands of decisions. Some of those decisions are simple, day to day decisions while others are life-changing decisions. The important thing is that each of us is able to make those decisions when the time comes. There may come a time, however, where you are unable to make some of the most important decisions of your life – or death—because of your incapacity. By creating a living will, or an advance directive, you may still be able to make those decisions or decide who will make them for you.

Under the laws of the State of Missouri, you may create and execute either a living will or an advance directive. Understanding the difference between the two as well as what each accomplishes is important.

A living will is a more limited document that allows you to determine ahead of time if you want “death-prolonging procedures” to be withheld or withdrawn if you have a terminal condition. An advance directive may cover a more broad range of healthcare circumstances as well as allow you to provide instructions regarding your healthcare that exceed those allowed in a living will. For instance, unlike a living will, you may include directions regarding the withdrawal or cessation of artificially supplied nutrients or hydration in an advance directive. An advance directive also allows you the ability to provide more specific instructions that might include the amount of time you wish certain procedures to be given before they are stopped.

Another option that relates to end of life care, or healthcare decisions if you ever become incapacitated, is creating a durable healthcare power of attorney. This document allows you to appoint an agent who will be allowed to make healthcare decisions for you if you are unable to make them for yourself one day. In the absence of a durable power of attorney your loved ones could end up in a court battle over the right to make healthcare decisions for you.

By creating a living will, advance directive, and/or durable power of attorney, you have the ability to retain control over your future healthcare decisions in the event that you are someday unable to make those decisions down the road. Moreover, you can decide now who will be given the power to make decisions not covered in your living will or advance directive instead of leaving it to a court to decide. Keep in mind, however, that each of these documents requires very precise language in order to be considered valid. Talk to your estate planning attorney now about creating one or more of these documents before you find yourself in a situation where it is too late to control your own healthcare.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Paul Gantner
Latest posts by Paul Gantner (see all)
  • Business Succession Planning May Be Easier than You Think - May 26, 2022
  • It Can Be Scary to Die Without an Estate Plan…the HORRORS of Intestacy - December 23, 2021
  • Neither Age Nor Health Determines Whether You Need an Estate Plan - December 21, 2021

Filed Under: Estate Planning, Incapacity Planning Tagged With: advance directive, living will

Other Articles You May Find Useful

Business Succession Planning May Be Easier than You Think
Just When You Thought You Understood the 10-Year Rule, Think Again
Application of the Transfer for Value Rule to the Sale of Life Insurance
What Estate of Marion Levine Means for Life Insurance
Let’s Talk about Trusts…and Taxation
What Everyone Should Know about the New FDIC Regulations

Primary Sidebar

Download our free Estate Planning Worksheet

There's a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you'll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • youtube

Blog Subscription

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Where We Are

Amen, Gantner & Capriano
10733 Sunset Office Drive, Suite 425
St. Louis, MO 63127

See Larger MapGet directions

Office Hours

Monday8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday8:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Map

map for Amen, Gantner & Capriano Your Estate Matters office
  • Advantages of Working With Our Firm
  • About The American Academy
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Contact Us

Footer

Connect to us

  • Facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • youtube
footer-logo

© 2022 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.

Amen, Gantner & Capriano,
Your Estate Matters, LLC

Attorney Advertisement