Legal Question in Elder Law in Arizona

Re: Health Directive

Your "living will" is not a last will and testament, it is an Advance Medical Directive which is only as good as the language is precise and correct. In order to be valid, the living will must be signed before a notary and you cannot just change an old one to add a name.

What you must have, and it is the most important document to protect you during your lifetime, is a Durable Health Care Power of Attorney. This will do everything that a living will accomplishes, and will do much more, because it will empower someone you trust to make health care decisions for you, if you are incapacitated. A living will only functions when you are in a "terminal" condition and is limited to treatment you have authorized at that time. No person has any discretion to do something different. The living will doesn't work if you are just unconscious and someone needs to pick a doctor, treatment or make a surgical decision for you.

See an attorney right away and get a properly prepared durable health care power of attorney.