Advance Decisions

Thinking ahead to minimise worry

Worries about failing health are a part of life. But we are here to ensure legal issues are not added to your list of concerns.

A ‘living will’ or Advance Decision as it is now know since the Mental Capacity Act of 2007, allows you to set out your preferences for medical treatment ahead of any serious medical problems. If you should ever fall so ill, for example from a coma or dementia, that you cannot communicate with doctors, it states clearly what medical care you want. This includes life-prolonging medical treatment.

You do not have to justify the decisions you make in your Advance Decision. All you have to do is ensure you show that you had the capacity to make the decisions when they were put in the document.

It is a sensitive subject, but one that people are increasingly addressing in the hopes of easing the burden on loved ones. Doctors are legally bound to respect a decision to refuse treatment if it is set out in an Advance Decision. You can also use an Advance Decision to request treatment, but this is not legally binding.