Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

A living will is not the same as a will. The living will expresses your preferences for medical treatments. You should create a new one if your preferences have changed. At the same time, you should appoint a health care proxy or agent to enforce your preferences if you are unable to speak for yourself at some time in the future. These documents are also called Advance Health Care Directives and Health Care Power of Attorney.

If you meant that you want to make changes to your "Last Will and Testament", the document that directs how your assets will be distributed upon your death, that can be done by codicil, but a codicil must be prepared and signed with the same formality as a will. If you do this by yourself, you may not do it properly and your wishes may not be carried out. You'd be better off going to an experienced estates lawyer in your county. It may be better to have all of your will documents, including the health care documents, done over, so that everything is current and properly executed.

THIS RESPONSE IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, SINCE I DO NOT HAVE ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED, AND I DO NOT HAVE A REPRESENTATION AGREEMENT WITH YOU.

* If the answers to your question confirm that you have a valid issue or worthwhile claim, your next step should almost always be to establish a dialog with a lawyer who can provide specific advice to you. Contact a lawyer in your county or township.

* Another reason for contacting a lawyer is that it is often impossible to give a good answer in the Internet Q&A format without having more information. The unique circumstances of your situation and things that you may not have thought to mention in your question may completely change the answer. If you want to be sure that you have a complete answer to your question and an understanding of what that answer means, establish a connection with a lawyer who practices in the area of your concern.

I agree with Attorney Jacobson. In a short answer, no. A living will is just a directive to your doctors that you do not want to be kept alive by mechanical means or given food/water if you find yourself in one of several conditions (you have a terminal illness, are in a coma/permanent vegetative state or have Alzheimer's or dementia). A living will governs how you wish to be treated by your healthcare providers while you are incapacitated but still alive. By comparison, a will only takes effect upon death. While you can change a will by codicil there are no codicils for a living will. Just make a new one. Many hospitals or other places have free ones. You can do an internet search and find them too.

Here is one from the PA Department of Health:

http://www.dsf.health.state.pa.us/health/lib/health/publicnotices/Sample_Forms_for_Advance_Directives.pdf

However, I am not endorsing their form or suggesting that you use it. There are many forms and I strongly suggest that you see an attorney in your area to not only update your will (whether by creating a new will or by codicil) and see to your other estate planning needs by making a health care power of attorney, advance directive/living will and durable financial power of attorney.