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What is the difference between legal death and actual death? Before modern methods, death was defined as the cessation of all bodily functions, including breathing and a heartbeat. Since some people can now be brought back from a period of no visual signs of life, in addition to artificially sustaining all necessary bodily functions – through heart-lung machines, respirators and dialysis – medicine needed an alternate definition for death, hence: the concept of brain death. By this criteria, an individual human being can be pronounced dead, even if the body is still functioning on life support systems. Legal criteria are varied, but for a diagnosis of brain-death, a neurological exam by two independent physicians is typically required.
The legal grey area comes in situations involving permanent comas or a persistent vegetative state, the diagnosis of Terri Schiavo. These physical states do not qualify as brain death, but still can cause families to assess that it is appropriate to withdraw life support. If you are in this state, you will be unable communicate your desires - how can you tell a hospital or your family what to do? The answer is a Vermont living will.
A Vermont living will is a legal document which indicates simply what your wishes are in the event that you are put on artificial life support. LegalZoom can help. We prepare customized living wills which meet every legal requirement in Vermont. A LegalZoom living will also allows you to combine a living will with the appointment of a health care agent, a person who can make decisions on your behalf even if you're not terminally ill or in an irreversible coma, but are unable to make decisions on your own. Start the process today, simply fill out our easy, online questionnaire and complete your Vermont living will in three easy steps.
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