What are the differences between a Health Care Proxy and Living Will?
A Living Will is a legal document that specifies in advance any life-sustaining measures a person refuses to undergo if there is no reasonable expectation of recovery. Typically, a person may refuse the use of feeding tubes, respirators and cardiac resuscitation. The Living Will makes an incapacitated individual’s treatment preferences known in a set of limited and specific circumstances and serves as a guide in medical decisions, but are NOT legally enforceable. The Health Care Proxy is not limited to a specific set of circumstances, but allows an Agent the flexibility to make treatment decisions in a wide range of situations. For these reasons, the Health Care Proxy is the recommended method for medical decision making in the event of incapacity.
