An Advance Healthcare Directive is a legal document that specifies one’s healthcare preferences, and who should make healthcare decisions on their behalf if they are unable to do so themselves. It is also known as a living will, advance directive, or medical directive.
Treatment preferences in advance healthcare directives may include specific instructions about life-sustaining treatments such as CPR, intubation, and artificial nutrition. Additionally, individuals can express preferences for pain management, comfort care, and hospice services in their advance healthcare directives. Making these preferences clear helps others, such as friends and family, know that your preferences are being followed during what may be an extremely difficult time for them emotionally.
Advanced Healthcare Directives can be completed online, free of charge, and are not legally binding until printed out and signed. Having the process freely available online increases accessibility, and transparency about the process of creating one.
FreeWill, a public benefit organization advocated by Equality Ohio and other legal aid organizations, provides a free online service for creating Advanced Healthcare Directives. The process is relatively simple and comprised of three steps:
1. Fill out the form online. It only takes about 20 minutes to fill out the information needed to create the Advanced Healthcare Directive.
2. Print out forms. The information you provide is combined with the legal language necessary and provided back to you as a printable Advanced Healthcare Directive.
3. Sign & keep safe. To make the Advanced Healthcare Directive official, follow the included instructions to sign and finalize it. Keep your Advanced Healthcare Directive somewhere safe but accessible, and make sure your loved ones know where it is.
The FreeWill organization freely provides other legal forms that enable one to easily create a Last Will & Testament, Designate Beneficiaries, and or create a Financial Power of Attorney. All forms are available to fill out online and print, with instructions on what information you will need to gather to complete of the forms. You can learn more about the FreeWill organization and the free legal forms they make accessible by visiting their website at freewill.com.
You can find more resources related to legal aid by selecting the “Legal Aid” category tab on our Social Service “Utilization Library” page.
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