Living Will - This was a surprise!

Years ago (at least a decade) my husband and I tossed this subject around asking each what we preferred. Today I see him with a manilla folder in his hand and ask him what it is and was floored he said it was a living will, already with one witness signature.

I was both shocked and floored after not discussing it for years. Logically I know its a good idea to have this written in case of emergency but to have it sprung out of the blue like that? How would you react?

Just a little background, my husband is 8 years older than I and I'm turning 60 this year, he told me it was under doctor recommendation because of his age which only stilled me to silence deep inside. Okay, he is taking high blood pressure medication... but still... to do this now? less

My mother had me type up her living will (at least I got one use out of my legal administration degree) because she firmly believes in not prolonging her life anymore than necessary. I've been hearing it from her for years to not put her on life support when she can no longer take care of herself or when she's a vegetable, so we had to get it done. I understand and will follow her wishes (since I'll be legal executrix, being her eldest child and she isn't married), but we just needed the paperwork done so I won't be under suspicion of the courts for pulling the plug on my little frail mother.

(Though I doubt I will be ... the only things I'll inherit are her debts.)

C and I haven't discussed it yet (we're both in our mid-30's). However, I'll likely get the discussion going when we get the legal matters of the marriage worked on. less

I'm not a lawyer, though could easily seek advice of one... probably should on this topic, but my understanding is as long as you have written something up, signed it in the presence of witnesses and had them sign it too... it should be honored upon your death.

If your estate/holdings/etc are substantial then you should really seek a lawyer to help you plan your estate as it might also necessitate different things depending on a number of factors. I know my grandfather was an estate planning lawyer and began distributing his estate in the form of the maximum non-taxable gift annually to reduce the potential tax burden from an inheritance tax in the advent of his death. He's thankfully still alive; however, not doing as good as he once was.

Going to double check if a lawyer is needed, but worst case think this is something you could do on like LegalZoom for a small fee if needed. less

Years ago (at least a decade) my husband and I tossed this subject around asking each what we preferred. Today I see him with a manilla folder in his hand and ask him what it is and was floored he said it was a living will, already with one witness signature.

I was both shocked and floored after not discussing it for years. Logically I know its a good idea to have this written in case of emergency but to have it sprung out of the blue like that? How would you react?

Just a little background, my husband is 8 years older than I and I'm turning 60 this year, he told me it was under doctor recommendation because of his age which only stilled me to silence deep inside. Okay, he is taking high blood pressure medication... but still... to do this now? less