Living Will Statistics will help you research and form your decision on your later life planning.
We know that talking about later life isn’t something anybody loves, and we recognise that it’s not easy to consider your options as you get older – particularly if it seems like it’s a long time away.
A Living Will, also known as an advance decision or an advance decision to refuse treatment (ADRT), allows you to express your wishes to refuse treatment in the future.
It means that you can let family, carers, and health professionals know of your wishes to refuse specific treatments if you’re unable to make or communicate those decisions yourself, for whatever reason.
Crucially, the treatments you wish to refuse must specifically be named in your Living Will, and you should specify if there are circumstances where you’d like to refuse treatments and others where you would like to receive treatment.
Statistics On Living Wills UK
Research indicates that just 13% of adults in the UK have a Living Will, and while that figure has risen during recent years, it still means that just a fraction of adults have made their wishes clear when it comes to treatment in later life.
A Living Will is created by you as long as you have the requisite mental capacity to do so – but you might want to seek the support of a health professional and a solicitor to create your Living Will document.
If you have decided that you wish to refuse life-sustaining treatment in the future, then your Living Will must be written down, signed by you AND signed by a witness.
If you are stating that you wish to refuse life-sustaining/life-saving treatments where you may die without the treatment, then you must state this clearly in your Living Will.
If you’re looking for clarification on the types of life-sustaining treatments that may be offered to you to decide whether you’d be happy to receive them or not, then it’s well worth seeking out the advice of a medical professional.
One of the most common treatments included in Living Wills is CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), which is where an attempt is made to start breathing and blood flow when someone has had a cardiac arrest or stopped breathing.
Around 20% of people who have CPR in hospital survive and leave the hospital, and this figure is often lower in other settings.
Is A Living Will Legally Binding?
As long as it’s created correctly, yes.
If it comes to a situation where a Living Will is required, then it will take precedence over any other wishes from loved ones.
However, it must apply to the situation, be valid, and comply with the Mental Capacity Act.
In terms of creating a Living Will, there are a few aspects you should consider to ensure it’s a valid and legally binding document:
- You must be at least 18 to create a Living Will
- You must have the capacity to make your decision, understand it, and communicate it to others
- You will need to specify precisely which treatments you wish to refuse
- You must make your Living Will of your own free will without undue influence from anyone else
- Your Living Will must be signed by you AND a witness if you’re refusing any life-sustaining treatment
It’s also worth noting that if after you’ve created your Living Will you then do or say anything that would contradict your wishes as laid out in the document, this could invalidate it. For example, if you tell a loved one that you’ve changed your mind, this could be taken into consideration.
Creating A Living Will UK
A Living Will or Advanced Decision is something that requires a lot of thought and care.
It’s wise to seek legal advice from a solicitor to ensure that the document is legally binding when created, and updated if your wishes should change.
At Solicitors Near Me, we connect you FREE of charge to expert solicitors near to where you live.
All of our solicitors are fully qualified and hand-picked so you only get the very best service for your Will writing, later life planning, and Living Will creation.
Contact Solicitors Near Me To Discuss A Living Will
Creating your will is a significant task to undertake. It’s important to get it right.
So, before you take the final step of writing your will, you need to carefully choose a solicitor to assist you…
To be connected to a specialist Will writing solicitor near to where you live, please either call us now on 0845 1391399 or complete a Free Online Enquiry.
