Have you ever wondered about the importance of having a last will and testament, or a legal, living will? I know my husband and I have bounced the idea of looking seriously into living wills or a last will and testament around, but that is about all we have really done. More recently though, the idea of getting ourselves an official last will and testament has weighed more heavily on my mind and I decided it was time to research the legal side of living wills.
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What are living wills, and what exactly is a last will and testament? First of all, it is important to understand that a last will and testament is not the same thing as living wills. Living wills are used in preparation of the dreaded event of a severe medical tragedy. If, heaven forbid, a person needs such drastic medical care that they are strapped to some sort of life preserving machine, a lot of times that person is unable to make any decisions about his continuing health care or other medical treatment.
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For example, if a person suffers a stroke, or is in a car accident, and is left in a coma, or in the form of a vegetable, and the only way to preserve his life is my medical treatments such a life support, a family often has to struggle with the decisions as to whether or not to continue life support, or 'pull the plug.' And unfortunately, a lot of times, the family's decisions are different from what the person would have wanted done. This is where things such as living wills come in handy. In living wills.a person can specify whether they want to be kept alive with medical treatments and health care, or if they want the plug to be pulled, should they ever reach that point in their lives. A last will and testament is different from living wills.
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While living wills deal with what happens to a person before legal death, a last will and testament will deal with a person's legal desires after death. A last will and testament is very important for everybody to have, but especially to those who will be leaving family members behind, including a spouse and/or minor children. If you and your spouse both were to take part in an untimely death, what would become of your minor children? Who would they go to? Do you want your crazy Uncle Pete to be put in charge of caring for your precious children? If not, than you had better specify your wishes in a last will and testament because if you don't, that might just be where your minor children end up.
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A last will and testament also takes care of money and property left behind. Will your spouse and children inherit everything? Or just a partial amount of your personal property? Will you divide your estate planning between various family members, or will you donate to a charity? A last will and testament gives you control over your life, even after death.
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While living wills deal with what happens to a person before legal death, a last will and testament will deal with a person's legal desires after death. A last will and testament.... Learn more at Have Control of Your Life, Even After Death and health
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