How does a Living Will become activated?
It is not necessary to go through any court procedure before a Living Will becomes effective. However, before the instructions in the Living Will are carried out, the attending doctor must determine that you are no longer able to make informed decisions on health care, and a second doctor must agree with the diagnosis that you are either terminally ill or permanently unconscious. To verify that you are in a permanently unconscious state, one of the doctors must be a specialist in an appropriate field. Once it is verified that you are either terminally ill or permanently unconscious, the attending doctor must follow the instructions in the Living Will. When does a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care become activated? When you complete a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care (or whatever similar document is available in your state), you are naming a person to act as your attorney-in-fact to make health care decisions for you if you become unable to make them for yourself. A Dur
