Living will
A Living Will, Will to Live or Advance Health Directive, Advance Health Care Directive, etc. is a specific type of power of attorney or health care proxy or advance directive. It is a legal instrument that, depending on the country, and in the US, on the state, usually is witnessed or notarized, and
- states that the principal is appointing an individual to direct their health care decisions should the principal be unable to do so (e.g. called Power of Attorney for Health Care), or
- provides specific directives as to the course of treatment that is to be taken by caregivers, or, in particular, in some cases forbidding treatment and sometimes also nutrition and water, should the principal be unable to give informed consent (e.g. called Individual Health Care Instruction)
As the name suggests, the Will to Live tends to emphasize the wish to live as long as possible rather than refusing treatment in the case of serious conditions.
In the Netherlands a patient or potential patient can specify in a written Euthanasia Directive under which circumstances he or she wants euthanasia. This helps establishing one of the requirements for euthanasia, the wish of the patient, in case he or she is unconscious.
See also Uniform Rights of the Terminally Ill Act, Do Not Resuscitate.