A living will is not something that most people deal with joyfully and voluntarily. However, there are clear advantages to thinking about the worst-case scenario in advance. In its digital version, this document is even more helpful.
The idea behind a living will is as follows: In it, you record which medical measures you agree to and which you reject. This includes, not least, life-sustaining procedures such as blood transfusions or artificial respiration. The doctors treating you must comply with your instructions, provided they assume that the order is legally valid (see below). In contrast, instructions that are contrary to the law, such as the wish for euthanasia, are generally not binding.
The contents of the document also include who the trusted third parties you have appointed are. There should be at least two.
Such a document is therefore ultimately intended for the moment when you yourself cannot make any decisions or express any wishes. Instead, you record them in writing in advance.
With such an order, you help both your relatives and the doctors. Because without such instructions, doctors would do everything they could to help you - even if this is not actually in your best interests.
However, the decree is also advantageous for yourself: After all, it means that you have to think very fundamentally and in good time about what should happen in an emergency. Such decisions are much easier to make if you have the leisure to inform yourself about the arguments for or against medical measures.
However, it is also clear that it is not always sensible or possible to go into every single potential treatment. Therefore, it is a good idea to describe in basic terms what is important to you from a personal or ethical point of view. This gives physicians some room for maneuver and decision-making in an emergency. Keep in mind that as a layperson you cannot always assess one hundred percent which possibly harmless measure can save your life in a situation. For this reason, too, it is recommended that you obtain detailed information or advice on these topics.
For an advance directive to be recognized as valid, the following rules apply:
At the same time, it is important that the order can be found quickly in an emergency. It is therefore recommended that a corresponding information card be carried at all times. Digital offerings have the advantage that the text of the order and other information can be called up particularly quickly.
Our partner LegacyNotes offers this feature as part of estate planning, which we have presented in more detail here. As a SecureSafe customer, you benefit from a 50% discount on your Premium or Lifetime subscription.
LegacyNotes' service guides you through the creation process in a convenient and easy-to-understand way, while providing a secure repository for your living will. Because LegacyNotes, like SecureSafe, is committed to the security of your information. They are encrypted and located on web servers in Switzerland.
As a customer, you carry a card with a QR code with you afterwards. A doctor can scan this if necessary and thus start the release process for the stored information directly. Your trusted third parties are contacted and can agree to the release. The stored information is then immediately available.
Among other things, LegacyNotes offers a free "retirement simulator", with the help of which you'll quickly find out which tasks still need to be done. After that, you'll create all the documents and deposit other important information. Your people with access will be guided through the tasks step by step, just in case...
We all certainly have different views on which life-sustaining measures we agree with and which we reject. In everyday life, however, you don't usually think about it. A living will helps you to be clear about your opinion. And at the same time, it gives you a chance to talk about it with the people you trust.
