Free Living Wills

IMPORTANCE OF LIVING WILLS: A living will, or advance directive, is not a part of your will. It is directions or an order to physicians and other healthcare providers as to your wishes with regard to treatments or procedures that you want used in the event of your incapacity. A living will becomes effective only when you are unable to express your wishes due to illness or incapacity.

In the event of a serious accident or illness, you may want doctors to do everything possible to keep you alive, or, you may prefer minimal, non-invasive treatment due to religious or moral beliefs. Your doctor simply would not know your wishes without some guidance. These are extremely tough decisions, and they require reflection on your philosophical and religious beliefs. The purpose of a living will is to make your intentions known to the world, so that your family and your doctors can act in accordance with your wishes.

Once completed, the importance of living wills can't be understated, it is important to discuss your wishes as reflected in your living or advanced health care directive, will with family members, and be sure they have a signed copy.

FREE LIVING WILLS: A Living Will is one form of Advance Health Care Directive as described above, it is not the difference between living wills and trusts. Living Wills usually only comes into effect only if you are terminally ill or incapacitated. Being terminally ill generally means that you have less than six months to live. In a Living Will, you can say what kind of treatment you want (or do not want) in certain situations, but its use may be limited to situations when you are determined to be terminally ill. There is a tendency for people to search out the internet for free living wills or examples of living wills in order to save some money on hiring an estate planning attorney to draft such a document. We certainly understand this tendency, to search for free living wills, but have to caution you here and stress the importance of living wills. There are no examples of living wills or free living wills that fit all situations for all people, in all states. Additionally, the difference between living wills and trusts is something to consider and understand.

IMPORTANCE OF LIVING WILLS: Unless properly drafted, signed, and notarized pursuant to the state law, a living will can become completely ineffective. If you're searching the internet, you already understand the importance of living wills, and that it's not an area of life where saving a few dollars is going to benefit you in the end. Using free living wills or examples of living wills is tempting, but those "DIY" documents can, and often are, totally ineffective as they are frequently missing key language or not executed properly.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIVING WILLS AND TRUSTS: A will, a living will, and a living trust or trust are all equally important legal documents every adult should have, and understand, at least generally. The difference between living wills and trusts document defines your will for the different areas of your estate, and will save your heirs and loved ones time and money after you pass. By using all of these types of wills and living wills and trusts, you can put your mind and your loved ones at ease knowing that your assets and possessions will be taken care of along with your medical wishes. Discover the difference between living wills and trusts and how each can help should you become ill or unable to care for your estate.

A will, a regular ordinary will dictates how your estate and property is to be distributed after your death, and it may also include your designation for guardians of your children, or self should you become incapable or pass away. A regular will must pass through probate court in most states before your estate can be passed on to your heirs. Probate court can take some time if there are disputes so make sure your wishes are clear and intent when writing your will.

Your will and living will and trust should also be prepared as a in accordance with your wishes by either yourself or an estate planning lawyer. A note saying "I leave my estate to my children" scrawled across a piece of notebook paper will not hold up in probate court and in fact may further complicate matters for your heirs. It is important that your wishes are clearly defined and easy to understand when the inevitable occurs. Most state laws do not require that you use an estate planning lawyer to prepare your will and you can do it yourself at home with a free living wills kit or examples of living wills from the internet, on your own terms. Will kits usually come with all the standard forms and they are inexpensive at just $10-$50. Using a will kit is also very easy because all of the wordy stuff is already included so all you have to do is fill in the blanks. This seems easy enough, but keep in mind if you do choose to use a free living wills kit or examples of living wills from the internet, you do run the risk that the document is not enforceable and creates more problems than it solves. You already understand the importance of living wills, it follows that some important should be done right, without complications. There are plenty of other ways to save money, saving on living wills and trusts may not be the best choice.

Living wills generally define your wish to be kept or not kept alive by artificial life support should you become terminally ill. Living wills also give you the ability to set limitations on your medical, and funeral costs that can often deplete your estate and leave your loved ones with bills, rather than an inheritance. As you age, the importance of living wills increases as we are more able to anticipate what sort of end-of-life care we may need. The best thing you can do is to be prepared, and to prepare your loved ones for the inevitable through a living will. The true importance of living wills is it relieves your loved ones of being forced to make difficult decisions during an emotional and stressful time. They will be in no shape to make significant medical decision, so to take that burden away from them will be a great relief. As you can see, a living will can be an enormously important document both to you and your loved ones, that's why free living wills or examples of living wills from the internet are tempting now, but really aren't worth it.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIVING WILLS AND TRUSTS CONTINUED...: A living trust is quite similar to a will but they are different at the foundation. Unlike a regular will that cannot be changed after it has been written (it would have to be totally redone, signed and notarized again), a living trust can be amended at any time and for any reason. You can put property into your living trust at any time before your death or even afterward, and estate can go directly to your loved ones without passing first through probate court and the drawn out probate process. If you ever change your mind about the distributions in your trust, you can change or revoke how your estate will be divided at any time by using a living trust. A living trust, will also save money and time and money later on because your loved ones won't have to go through probate first.

So, the question is do you need all three of these documents? You already know the importance of living wills and the difference between living wills and trusts, these are very important documents. free living wills kits, or examples of living wills from the internet are NOT the answer. These documents are fairly easy to draw up by an estate planning lawyer for a nominal fee. If your estate is especially complicated or large sums of money and property will be exchanged it is critical to hire a qualified living will attorney and living trust attorney to prepare estate planning documents.

McFarlin & Geurts, LLP would be happy to consult with you about preparing these important documents at no charge. If you choose to have us prepare them for you, you will find our fees are quite reasonable, and your questions will always be answered promptly.