What Should You Include in an Advance Directive or Living Will?
By CRYSTAL BAI •
The short answer: An advance directive (also called a living will) should document your wishes for CPR, mechanical ventilation, artificial nutrition, pain management, organ donation, and healthcare proxy designation. Being specific reduces family conflict and ensures your wishes are honored.
What Is an Advance Directive?
An advance directive is a legal document that records your healthcare wishes for times when you cannot speak for yourself — due to unconsciousness, dementia, or incapacitation. It typically includes a living will (your treatment preferences) and a healthcare proxy (who makes decisions for you).
Key Decisions to Document
A thorough advance directive addresses: (1) CPR preferences; (2) mechanical ventilation; (3) artificial nutrition and hydration (feeding tubes); (4) dialysis; (5) hospitalization vs. home comfort; (6) pain and comfort management preferences; (7) organ/tissue donation; (8) desired setting for death (home, hospice, hospital).
Choosing Your Healthcare Proxy
Your healthcare proxy (also called healthcare agent or durable power of attorney for healthcare) is the person who makes decisions when you cannot. Choose someone who understands your values and will advocate for your wishes even under pressure from family or medical providers.
Being Specific Reduces Conflict
Vague directives ("I don't want to be kept alive artificially") leave room for interpretation and family disagreement. Specific directives — "I do not want mechanical ventilation if I have no reasonable chance of recovery to a meaningful quality of life" — provide clearer guidance.
Where to Keep Your Advance Directive
Give copies to your healthcare proxy, primary care physician, any specialists, and relevant hospitals. Keep the original in an accessible (not locked) location at home. Register with your state's advance directive registry if available.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a living will and a healthcare proxy?
A living will documents your treatment preferences; a healthcare proxy (or durable power of attorney for healthcare) designates a person to make decisions for you. Most advance directives include both components.
Does an advance directive expire?
Most advance directives do not expire, but it is good practice to review and update them every few years or after major health changes, relationship changes, or changes in your values.
Can a death doula help me complete an advance directive?
Yes — helping clients complete advance directives is a core death doula service. They can guide you through the decisions, ensure documents meet your state's legal requirements, and facilitate family conversations.
What is a POLST form and how is it different from an advance directive?
A POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) is a medical order signed by a doctor that provides more specific and immediately actionable guidance than an advance directive — typically used when death is expected within a year.
Renidy connects grieving families with compassionate death doulas and AI-powered funeral planning tools. Try our free AI funeral planner or find a death doula near you.