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As competent and functioning adults, we are all entitled to decide for ourselves about how and what will happen if we were placed on artificial life support, specifically, whether or not we will allow medical personnel to "pull the plug." This choice need only be made in the event that your demise is inevitable or you have fallen into a state of coma or vegetation which turned permanent. Unfortunately, once in that state, we are not able to make our desires known if they are not already firmly and legally established in writing. Incredibly, today's life support systems can keep an individual's body alive for years, even if the brain is no longer functioning.
Take control of these difficult decisions so it won't fall to your family to take care of them for you. Unlike a Last Will and Testament, Alaska living wills do not handle determining what the future of your property is once you are deceased; a living will is a document which simply lets you decide in advance whether or not you want to be kept on artificial life support. Within the medical field, life support covers a range of techniques, machines and therapies. In essence, it refers to anything that will sustain the life of a human body which cannot stay alive unaided. If you change your mind about the contents of your Alaska living will, you can cancel it any time.
Included in the LegalZoom living will is the ability to grant health care power of attorney, meaning you appoint another person to assess the situation and make important health care decisions in your stead. LegalZoom can help you take control of your decisions about life support by preparing a customized Alaska living will online.
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