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A Georgia living will is an estate planning document that expresses your desires for medical treatment if you are no longer able to do so because of a terminal condition, a decline in cognitive function, a state of permanent unconsciousness, or a persistent vegetative state. This document is a legal document. A Georgia living will is also referred to as a Georgia advance directive for health care or an advanced directive.
A Georgia living will is also used to name someone to make decisions on your behalf when you are no longer able to make your own decisions. This person is known as a health care agent. Your Georgia living will should be signed by two witnesses. Your witnesses must be at least 18 years old, not named as your health care agent, not directly involved in your healthcare as medical staff, and cannot inherit anything from you either through your will or through state law when you die.
The goal of your living will is two-fold. It informs others of which medical procedures and treatment preferences you have while also making difficult decisions easier for your family members. However, a living will and durable power of attorney are not the same. If you are interested in learning more about a durable power of attorney for health care, you should seek legal advice. Georgia law treats the two documents as separate. They function quite differently during end-of-life needs.
O.C.G.A. Title 31 Chapter 32: Before the attending physician can follow any wishes related to withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining procedures, including the removal of feeding tubes. For female patients, they must first make sure that she is not pregnant. Any document that complies with the State’s living will laws, including being properly signed and witnessed, shall be treated as a living will.
The Division of Aging Services provides a free PDF of the State's official living will that is fully compliant with Code Section 31-32.
A living will is used to express your wishes for medical treatment at a time when you cannot make those decisions. To further make your wishes known, you should create a Georgia Last Will and Testament.
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