According to Washington law, any competent adult individual 18 years and of sound mind may execute a Directive of Health Care governing the withholding of life-sustaining treatment
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In a Living Will you do not appoint an agent to make health related decisions for you if you are terminally ill. If you wish to designate such attorney-in-fact you need to complete Health Care Power of Attorney |
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An individual of sound mind who is 18 years of age or older may execute at any time a health care directive governing the initiation, continuation, withholding or withdrawal of life sustaining treatment.
This is an important legal document known as an "Advance Health Care Directive". Washington Health Care Directive is designed to help you communicate your wishes about medical treatment at some time in the future when you are unable to make your wishes known because of illness or injury. These wishes are usually based on personal values. In particular, you may want to consider what burdens or hardships of treatment you would be willing to accept for a particular amount of benefit obtained if you were seriously ill. Any adult person may execute a health care directive directing the withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment in a terminal condition or permanent unconscious condition. The directive shall be signed by the declarer in the presence of two witnesses not related to the declarer by blood or marriage and who would not be entitled to any portion of the estate of the declarer upon declarer's decease under any will of the declarer or codicil thereto then existing or, at the time of the directive, by operation of law then existing. In addition, a witness to a health care directive shall not be the attending physician, an employee of the attending physician or a health facility in which the declarer is a patient, or any person who has a claim against any portion of the estate of the declarer upon declarer's decease at the time of the execution of the directive. The directive, or a copy thereof, shall be made part of the patient's medical records retained by the attending physician, a copy of which shall be forwarded by the custodian of the records to the health facility when the withholding or withdrawal of life-support treatment is contemplated. A health care directive may be revoked at any time by the declarant without regard to Declarants mental state or competency, and may be revoked by any of the following methods: 1) By being canceled, defaced, obliterated, burned, torn, or otherwise destroyed by the declarant or by some person in declarant's presence and by declarant's direction; 2) By a written revocation of the declarant expressing declarant's intent to revoke, signed, and dated by the declarant (this revocation becomes effective upon communication to the attending physician by the declarant or by a person acting on behalf of the declarant. The attending physician shall record in the patient's medical record the time and date when said physician received notification of the written revocation); or 3) By a verbal expression by the declarant of declarant's intent to revoke the directive (this revocation becomes effective only upon communication to the attending physician by the declarant or by a person acting on behalf of the declarant. The attending physician shall record in the patient's medical record the time, date, and place of the revocation and the time, date, and place, if different, of when said physician received notification of the revocation). If a declarant becomes comatose or is rendered incapable of communicating with the attending physician, the directive remains in effect for the duration of the comatose condition or until such time as the declarant's condition renders declarant able to communicate with the attending physician. If there is something you do not understand about this document you should consult an attorney. Before signing this Washington Living Will with an Anatomical gift donation you need to discuss your treatment with your physician in as many details as possible, and consider types of treatments that you want/do not want to be performed for you when you are unable to express your wishes because of your illness. Please make sure to state clearly particular treatments you want or do not want. |
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