Talking To Family Members About A Living Will

An Arizona living will is one of the most important documents in your estate planning arsenal. It provides you with full control over your medical decisions should something happen to you that prevents you from doing so in the moment. However, your family members may not always understand your decisions or the person to which you’ve appointed the control over your medical decisions in your Arizona living will.

Talking to your family members is key, not only to go over your decisions and your rationale, but to ensure that they provide support to the person that you’ve appointed to make decisions on your behalf in a critical situation. A family-based discussion also gives your family members a chance to make their voices heard, so that even if you choose to make decisions they don’t understand, they at least feel as though they were heard in your decision-making process.

This kind of discussion should be direct, short and respectable. Start by explaining why you choose the person you did to be your healthcare advocate and give your family members some background on the reason you are creating an Arizona living will. It doesn’t need to be created because you are sick; in fact, many people that create this document are in perfect health when doing so but have the full realization that anything can happen on any given day, so it is always best to be prepared. You might also take this opportunity to tell your family members about any other estate planning you may have done, so that in the event of your passing, they are informed as to where important documentation may be kept and what your wishes were in this regard as well.

Finally, explain that your health care decisions are based on personal choices and beliefs and while you are willing to listen to their feedback, your decisions are just that: yours to make. You simply wanted to let them know the contents of your Arizona living will and wanted to give them a chance to express their feelings about your wishes, particularly if they are fairly extreme in nature. End the conversation by telling them how much they mean to you and how much you appreciate their participation in such an important family discussion. This is the best way to talk to your family members about your Arizona living will.

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If you are not sure as to what legal document you currently have contact one of our professionals to help you with your estate planning. They will make sure you have all of your grounds covered and have the right legal documents that best suite your wants and needs.