Living Wills &
Health Directives.
A living will lets you specify — in advance — the level of medical care you want if you become terminally ill, permanently incapacitated, or unable to communicate your wishes. A durable healthcare power of attorney names the person authorized to make those decisions for you. Every adult needs both documents. Every state has its own required form.
Making your wishes known
before you can't.
These documents only matter in the worst circumstances — and in those circumstances, they matter enormously. Without them, your family faces agonizing decisions without guidance, and medical providers may default to maximum intervention regardless of your wishes.
A living will — called a Declaration in some states — allows you to determine in advance the level of medical care you want if you become terminally ill or permanently incapacitated. Without one, that decision falls to your family, your doctors, or the courts — often under enormous stress and without any knowledge of what you would have wanted.
Without a healthcare directive, medical providers default to maximum intervention. Your living will is the document that changes that — while you're still able to say what you want.
The companion document — a Durable Healthcare Power of Attorney — names a specific person to make medical decisions on your behalf if you cannot. This person becomes your healthcare agent, authorized to communicate your wishes to medical providers and make judgment calls in situations your written directive may not have anticipated. Together, the two documents cover nearly every medical decision scenario.
Conditions these documents address
Terminal illness
A diagnosed condition expected to result in death regardless of continued medical treatment. Directs whether life-sustaining treatment should be applied, withheld, or withdrawn.
Permanent coma
A persistent vegetative state with no reasonable expectation of recovery. Your directive specifies your wishes for artificial nutrition, hydration, and life support in this scenario.
Alzheimer's & dementia
Advanced stages where you can no longer communicate meaningfully. A directive completed while you are still mentally competent captures wishes you may not be able to express later.
End-of-life care preferences
Palliative care vs. aggressive treatment; pain management priorities; DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) preferences; organ donation wishes — documented in advance in your own words.
Incapacitation from injury
Sudden accidents or strokes that leave you unable to communicate. The healthcare POA ensures someone you trust — not a stranger or a court — makes decisions on your behalf.
Situations not covered by your directive
Your healthcare agent under the Durable POA can make judgment calls in circumstances your written directive did not specifically anticipate — filling gaps that no document can fully predict.
Declaration &
Durable Power of Attorney.
Two separate documents work together to cover both your stated wishes and the judgment calls that no written directive can fully anticipate. Both should be completed at the same time.
Living Will (Declaration)
Document 1 of 2 — your written wishes
Durable Healthcare Power of Attorney
Document 2 of 2 — your named decision-maker
HIPAA authorization — the companion document
A Durable Healthcare Power of Attorney authorizes someone to make medical decisions — but doesn't automatically grant access to your medical records or allow providers to discuss your condition with them. A separate HIPAA Authorization grants that access explicitly. Most complete estate planning packages include a HIPAA authorization alongside the healthcare directive and POA. Without it, your healthcare agent may find themselves unable to get information from providers even when they're legally authorized to make decisions.
How to complete
your forms.
These documents are simpler to complete than most people expect. A guided software package or a one-time attorney session can have both documents done in under an hour — and it's something you only have to do once until your circumstances change.
Choose your method — software or attorney
Guided estate planning software (Quicken WillMaker Plus covers all states except Louisiana) walks you through a step-by-step interview and generates your state-specific Declaration and Durable Healthcare Power of Attorney forms in under 30 minutes. Alternatively, an estate planning attorney can draft both documents — typically included in a full estate planning package alongside your will and trust.
Use your state's specific form
Every state has its own required format, language, and execution requirements. Do not use a generic template from another state — it may not be legally valid where you live. Estate planning software generates state-specific forms automatically. If working with an attorney, confirm they are familiar with your state's current requirements.
Sign with required witnesses present
Most states require two adult witnesses at the time you sign. In Pennsylvania, both witnesses must be over 18 and must attest to your mental soundness at signing. Some states also require notarization. Check your state's specific requirements — the software will guide you through them.
Distribute copies to the right people
Give a copy to your named healthcare agent, your primary physician, and your hospital if you have a regular care relationship. Keep the original in your Survivor's Guide binder. Make sure your healthcare agent knows where to find their copy — the document is useless if no one can produce it at the moment it's needed.
Review and update when circumstances change
Review both documents whenever your health situation changes significantly, when the person you named as healthcare agent is no longer available or appropriate, after a major life event (marriage, divorce, death of agent), or at least every five years. Revocation is simple — most states allow you to revoke a directive by destroying it and notifying your healthcare providers.
State-specific requirements — why they matter
Healthcare directives are governed by state law — not federal law. Requirements for valid execution differ meaningfully across states, including witness requirements, notarization, specific language that must appear in the document, and naming conventions (Declaration, Living Will, Advance Directive, etc.).
Use your state's official form
Most states publish official advance directive forms through the state health department or attorney general's office — often available free online. These forms are designed to satisfy your state's legal requirements exactly. Estate planning software generates the correct form for your state automatically.
If you move to a new state, review whether your existing directive needs to be updated to conform to your new state's requirements. Most states honor out-of-state directives if they were validly executed in the original state — but updating to your current state's form eliminates any ambiguity.
Forms &
related pages.
Official state directive resources, estate planning software, and the related estate planning pages on this site.