What is the difference between a Living Will and a Lasting Power of Attorney Health and Welfare?
With a Living Will (also known as an ‘Advance Decision’) you can specify in advance that you don’t wish to receive specified medical treatments in certain circumstances. So Living Wills are a means of refusing treatment. A Lasting Power of Attorney Health and Welfare (LPA HW), on the other hand, lets you give a much more general authority to a relative or close friend (known in power of attorney terms as the ‘Attorney’) to make decisions regarding your personal welfare and so either consent to or refuse treatments on your behalf. It’s possible to have both a Living Will and a Lasting Power of Attorney Health and Welfare. But it’s important to note that: • If a Living Will is made after an LPA HW and the Living Will covers the same treatment as the LPA HW, the Attorney of the LPA HW cannot consent on your behalf to treatment specified in the Living Will. • An LPA HW created after a Living Will that covers the same treatment as the Living Will will cause the Living Will to be invalid. Fi
