Your Living Will - Free Colorado Living Will PDF

You have the right to make your own decisions regarding your medical care. If, however, you are in a state that makes it impossible for you to give instructions, the only way that your wishes may be know is if you have provided an advance directive such as a living will. Colorado residents can use our Colorado living will form to provide their families and health care providers with this information. It does not in any way take away your ability to make your own decisions when you are capable of doing so.

Advance Directives

The specific rules and regulations regarding advanced directives can vary from state to state, so if you spend significant amounts of time in a number of different states, it can be a good idea to have advance directives that are in accordance with the laws of each state. There are several different forms of advance directives that are recognized by the laws of Colorado. A Living Will form gives instructions concerning situations of terminal illness. A Medical Durable Power of Attorney directive gives someone you trust the power to make medical decisions for you, and a CPR Directive instructs health care providers not to perform CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) on you. A Medical Durable Power of Attorney, CPR Directive, or living will in Colorado also often includes instructions concerning organ donation.

If you have already prepared a living will in another state, it may still be valid in Colorado. However, we recommend you use our Colorado living will form to prepare a new living will under Colorado law.

Your Living Will

There are several reasons to have a living will. Colorado residents can use our living will form to give instructions concerning when and whether medical personnel should provide artificial nourishment (i.e. a "feeding tube"), and other life sustaining procedures. A living will may also contain information regarding organ donation. Your doctor must either follow the instructions set out in your living will, or hand you over to a doctor who will.

By filling out and signing our free Colorado living will form you can instruct your physician to withhold or halt life support if:

• You are terminally ill, with no chance of recovery
• You have been in a coma, unconscious, or in a persistent vegetative state for a specified length of time (no less than 48 hours)
• You are unable to make your own health care decisions
• You are unable to communicate

Your living will may also instruct health care personnel to remove a feeding tube or other artificial nourishment if it is the only care being provided. Enough care and nourishment will be provided to prevent you from experiencing pain. Using our Colorado living will form, you can instruct your doctor to remove artificial nourishment immediately, or after a certain period of time set out in your living will, or you can specify that you never want nourishment withheld.

Nearly anybody over the age of 18, who is mentally competent, can be the executor of a living will. Some exceptions follow. The person you choose to execute your living will cannot be:

• Your health care provider
• An employee of your health care provider
• Anyone you owe money to
• Any person that has reason to believe they may be entitled to your estate after your death

The signing of your living will must be witnessed by two people. None of the above people are eligible to be your witnesses. If you are unable to sign your will, you may direct someone to sign it on your behalf.

You can destroy and invalidate your living will at any time, should you change your mind. This can be done by physically destroying the document, by revoking it in writing, or by telling anyone that you wish to invalidate it. If you destroy a living will, you should inform your family, your doctor, and anyone who has a copy.