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The reasons we create legal documents are as varied as the amount of documents that exist. In many instances, a legal document serves to make an agreement, a plan, or an established relationship official and on record, provable in a court of law. While it may seem obvious to many to create a Last Will and Testament, equally vital is something called a living will. Instead of governing what happens to your personal assets, a living will governs how you want your body handled if you were to be placed on artificial life support. To pull the plug or to not pull the plug – a living will answers that question.
We have the constitutional right to make decisions for ourselves regarding our own health care at the end of our lives. If we are able to communicate, we can let them be known. In the event that death is imminent or we are diagnosed in a permanent vegetative state, we need to have the record of our desires readily available and established in writing. And remember, as proven by the Terri Schiavo case, the life support systems in use today can keep an individual's body alive for years, even if a person is in constant pain or brain dead. And rest assured that if you change your mind about anything included in your Iowa living will, it can be revoked at any time.
Included in the LegalZoom living will is the ability to grant someone else health care power of attorney, meaning they can make important health care decisions on your behalf in case you are unable to do so. LegalZoom can help you quickly and easily take control of your health care decisions by preparing a customized Iowa living will online.
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