A Living Will is often called an Advance Directive. A Living Will provides a person’s written instructions on providing or withholding life-sustaining care or procedures when he or she is in a terminal or permanently unconscious condition. It is not required to have a living will to receive medical care.
Many people use a living will, along with a medical Power of Attorney (or a healthcare proxy), to make their wishes known about medical treatment and healthcare.
As a caregiver, you may want to consider completing some of these documents for yourself as well.