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What is it?

Livings Wills are not actually Wills, but rather documents which allow you to make clear your wishes regarding medical treatment, and other treatments should you have a serious accident, terminal illness or suffer dementia thereby losing your mental capacity.

Sometimes the term ‘Living Will’, is used interchangeably with ‘Advance Directive’, ‘Advance Statement’ or ‘Advance Decisions’. Since the implementation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 which came into force in April 2007, the expressions are similar and the document we provide for you combines them.

You may wish to make it clear that if you suffer from a serious illness or accident from which it is unlikely that you will recover, you do not wish to receive life-prolonging treatments. However, you cannot use a Living Will to request something which is illegal, such as euthanasia.

To be valid and include advance decisions, the Living Will we provide for you needs to fulfil the following criteria:

1. The person needs to be mentally competent at the time of creating the Living Will; that is not suffering from any mental distress;
2. The person needs to be fully informed at the time of creating the Living Will about the nature and effect of refusing treatment. The circumstances must be the same as envisaged in the Living Will;
3. The person should not have been forced or influenced into making the Living Will and not have cancelled the Living Will, either in writing or verbally;
4. The person must not be mentally able to make any decisions when the Living Will is to be used, due to unconsciousness or otherwise.
5. The person should be over 18.

Please note - if you create a Lasting Power of Attorney after your Living Will, this will invalidate the Living Will. Conversely, if you create a Living Will after a Lasting Power of Attorney, this can invalidate that aspect of the Lasting Power of Attorney.

Once you receive your Living Will from us, you may wish to make multiple copies. One should be kept for your personal records, one for a close friend or relative you trust to make sure your wishes are carried out, and you may also wish to give a copy to your doctor to keep with your medical records.

Should you have any difficulties filling in the form, or require any assistance, please contact us. You might also find this Age Concern helpsheet [PDF document, opens in a new window] useful.

How To Order

This document is available in our premium range for £15.00 including all delivery charges.

You can choose to have your documents emailed to you, or sent by first class post. We aim to prepare your documents by the end of the next working day, although in practice we normally send your document within hours of receiving payment.

£15.00

Complete the order form and we will professionally draft your document.

If you have any questions about our services, or wish to order by post, please contact us.

Remember our Satisfaction Guarantee. We will offer you a full refund if you are unhappy with our service in any way.

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