A Living Will is a legally binding document that determines the specific medical care you wish to receive if you can no longer make those decisions for yourself. Doctors and healthcare workers request this document to help them understand the treatments to proceed with during medical emergencies and end-of-life care.

A Living Will is also known as a:

• Advance directive
• Health care directive
• Personal directive

LawDepot’s template is available for all provinces and territories except Nunavut and Quebec.

A Medical Power of Attorney is a document that appoints someone, known as a healthcare proxy, to make decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated. The name of a proxy can vary by jurisdiction. Alternative names may include the following: 

• Healthcare agent 
• Representative 
• Attorney 

The amount of authority you give your proxy can vary on what you wish to grant them in your document. In addition to your directions, LawDepot’s Living Will template allows you to grant decision-making powers to a proxy with a Medical Power of Attorney. You’ll be prompted to name a healthcare proxy when necessary, and you wish to include one.

A Living Will takes effect when you become incapacitated or unconscious due to a permanent injury, an illness, a disease, or even old age. If your medical practitioner has a copy of your Living Will, they can look at what decisions you’ve made in your document for the care they can administer. 

If you name a healthcare proxy, they’ll be the ones to work with doctors to make the decisions on what treatment or intervention you’ll receive. This is because you give them the authority to make personal care decisions alongside major and minor health care decisions on your behalf.

Who can be a healthcare proxy?

A healthcare proxy should be an adult you trust to follow your instructions and who is preferably local in case of an emergency. Before you name a proxy, you should discuss your healthcare choices with them and ensure they’re up to the responsibility.

Each province and territory may have requirements for who can and cannot be your healthcare proxy. For example, a proxy of your choice in British Columbia is also known as a representative. To be a representative, they must follow the province’s criteria, such as being at least 19 years of age. 

Other things to consider when choosing a representative and an alternate include:

• Your representative can be an adult child, parent, or spouse
• A representative cannot be under your employment for personal care or health care services
• A representative cannot be an employee of a facility where you reside (e.g., a care home) or receive personal care or health services from

Check your local legislation for who you can name as your healthcare proxy.

A Living Will and a Medical Power of Attorney are key to estate planning. Doctors and other medical staff may ask if you have one in situations like when you’re about to begin treatment or go in for surgery. 

This document gives you control when you can’t speak for yourself and saves your family from having to make tough choices on your behalf. When writing your Living Will, you can discuss your medical intervention choices with your doctor or health care proxy. Decisions you can make include your preferences for:

• Life support
• Tube feeding
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
• Intervening illness

If you don’t name a proxy, healthcare professionals must follow provincial legislation to determine who can be a substitute decision-maker. In Ontario, the following people will be contacted in this order until medical staff can be given a decision on your care:

1. A guardian that has the authority to give or refuse consent
2. A representative appointed by application to the Consent and Capacity Board
3. Spouse or partner
4. A child or parent
5. Siblings
6. Any other relative

Whoever medical staff can reach who is willing to make these decisions for you may not have your instructions to follow and may make a choice that doesn’t fit your wishes for medical care.

At what age should I make a Living Will?

Anyone at least 18 years old (19 in some provinces) and has the capacity to make a Living Will should do so. It’s essential for adults if any unexpected medical emergencies occur or end-of-life care needs to take place.

In Canada, each province and territory has their own name and legislation for this document. This includes who can make a Living Will, who can be a proxy, and how to revoke your document. They are as follows:

LawDepot’s Living Will template is currently unavailable for Nunavut and Quebec. The Yukon also requires a special legal consultation and certificate regarding certain therapies and procedures to make a Living Will valid. 

If you have questions regarding your Living Will or estate planning, contact a lawyer for more assistance. 

With LawDepot’s template, you can customize your Living Will to save, download, and sign accordingly.

First, select which province or territory you live in. This will customize your document to follow your jurisdiction requirements and prompt you to include the necessary information your document needs. Then continue with the following steps:

1. Add your details

Put your name, address and phone number. You’ll also be prompted to include your gender and if you wish to revoke any previous directives you have.

2. Name a healthcare proxy (optional)

You can name one or more proxies for doctors to consult in medical situations like an emergency. Include their names and contact details. 

You must then specify what kind of authority your agent has to make medical decisions. This can be:

• Full authority subject to your instructions
• Full authority, even if overriding your instructions
• The specific authority you provide

3. Create a statement of values and beliefs

If it applies to your circumstances, you can include a statement of your values and beliefs. This statement specifies your beliefs and morals that may be relevant to your health care. While this statement provides guidance about the types of treatment you would want, it isn't binding on doctors or health care professionals. 

This statement can provide extra information that may affect your treatment if you’re hospitalized, such as your definition of quality of life or beliefs regarding specific treatments. For example, this can include a belief that no life support or prolonged, aggressive medical treatment be provided when there are no reasonable expectations of recovery. 

4. Outline your treatment directions and end-of-life decisions

Next, you’ll select which kind of treatments you would or wouldn’t want in the following situations:

1. You have a terminal condition
2. You are persistently unconscious
3. You have severe and permanent mental impairment

You can continue to add statements about your wishes regarding behaviour-controlling drugs and medication for pain management.

LawDepot’s template allows you to include other kinds of treatment and specific instructions you feel strongly about. For example, if your beliefs or religion don’t allow you to receive blood transfusions, you can include your request not to have a blood transfusion in a medical emergency.

You may also want to include specific instructions for medical personnel if you don’t name a proxy.

5. Add further instructions

To ensure all the necessary information is in your Living Will and Medical Power of Attorney, you’ll be prompted to include details such as:

• Who you wish to designate to determine your incapacity and inability to make decisions alongside a physician or psychologist
• Who can access confidential information
• Your wish for organ donation
• If you want your proxy to acknowledge and sign your document
• Who else you want notified of your incapacity

Depending on your jurisdiction, you can designate an agent to temporarily care for your minor children in an emergency.

6. Add final details

Before you finish your questionnaire, you can add any other final instructions that fit your medical requests as long as they are not considered illegal (e.g., you cannot make requests for assisted suicide in a Living Will). 

Finally, choose your signing date if you already have one. If you cannot physically sign your document, you can include the information of who will sign it on your behalf. 

Each jurisdiction has requirements for who can sign on your behalf. For example, in Manitoba, your appointed health care proxy or their spouse/common-law partner cannot sign on your behalf and cannot be a witness.

Notarization and witness requirements will vary by jurisdiction. Even if your province or territory doesn't require it, you may wish to notarize your document to help with its validity. It can verify your identity when signing and further authenticate your document.

If your document needs witnesses, certain people cannot be witnesses based on your jurisdiction’s laws. For example, in Alberta, a witness cannot be:

• Your agent (proxy)
• The spouse or adult interdependent partner of your agent
• Your spouse or adult interdependent partner
• The person who signs on your behalf, if applicable
• The spouse or adult interdependent partner of the person signing on your behalf.

Yes, you can change or revoke your Living Will. Reasons you may need to update your document include:

• Being diagnosed with a new illness
• A change in marital status
• You move to a different province
• You change your choices for medical care

If circumstances change, you can create a new Living Will that revokes any previous document versions. When you amend your document, you will need to:

1. Give the new document and its copies to the appropriate people (e.g., doctor, nursing home, health care proxy)
2. Destroy outdated versions 

Each province and territory has requirements for updating or revoking your Living Will, such as having a revocation in writing. Our questionnaire will let you choose to revoke any previous Living Will in writing if it’s required for your jurisdiction.

Your Living Will is a document that informs your healthcare providers what kind of treatment you wish to receive. It’s called a Living Will because it is used when you’re still alive. 

Your Last Will and Testament will determine how you wish your estate to be distributed when you pass away. It doesn’t leave instructions for medical care. These two documents are essential to estate planning alongside:

• A Power of Attorney that names an agent to handle your day-to-day affairs like finances, business, and real estate should you become incapacitated or be absent for long periods. 
• An End-of-Life Plan that outlines your wishes for a ceremony, burial, obituary and more. Your Living Will and Last Will don’t include funeral arrangements.