The Colorado Living Will (Advance Health Care Directive) is not about you. Living Wills are about one and only one thing, and that is guilt relief. A Living Will is about placing the burden of when to take you off of life support exactly where it belongs, on you. Yes, you make the decision but it is not about you. You are already gone. It is about not making your family decide when to end your body’s time on Earth.

I went to the Elder Law Symposium late this summer and came back with the new, updated Living Will form. The Living Will laws and forms changed recently for the better. Now there is no minimum time before the plug can be pulled and you can list the friends or family who can talk to the attending physician.

One more thing. Do not confuse a Living Will with a Do Not Resuscitate. The first takes you off life support while the second keeps you from being put on it. Only a physician can issue a DNR, not an attorney. In either case, don’t forget; it’s not about you, it’s about your family.