A Living Will is a document directing your physician that certain life-sustaining procedures should be withheld or withdrawn if you are in a terminal condition or unable to decide for yourself.

• A life-sustaining procedure is any mechanical or artificial means which sustains, restores, or supplants a vital body function and which would only prolong the dying process for a terminal patient.
• A terminal condition is an irreversible condition that, without life-sustaining procedures, will result in death in a relatively short time or a state of permanent unconsciousness from which there is no likely recovery.

The Living Will takes place only when you have a terminal condition and are unable to make decisions.

A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care is a document through which you name another person known as your “Attorney-in-fact” or “agent” to make health care decisions for you if you are unable to make them. This agent is required to make decisions according to directions you may provide in the document or otherwise. If your wishes are not known, your agent shall make decisions in your best interests. The person you name as your Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care should be someone that you trust and who has consented to act as your agent. It is advised to name an alternate agent in case the person you appoint becomes unable or unwilling to act in your behalf. Your agent can make any health care decision you can make regarding treatment of your physical and mental condition. It is important to discuss your wishes with the person you appoint as your agent. Keep the original document in a safe but accessible place. Provide copies to family members and to the appointed agent and alternates. Give a copy to your physician or local clinic.

Even if you have a Living Will and/or Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care it is important to talk to your family and your doctor about your desires to be resuscitated. This provides them with the knowledge to make the right decisions regarding your treatment should you become terminally ill or injured. Your doctor may be able to enter a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order which instructs your care provider to not revive you if your heart or breathing stops. Although health care providers do not perform lifesaving efforts on DNR patients, they keep them as comfortable and pain free as possible.

The Iowa Physicians Order for Scope of Treatment or IPOST is a document that allows a person to communicate their preferences for key life-sustaining treatments including resuscitation, general scope of treatment, artificial nutrition and more. IPOST is appropriate for an individual who is frail elderly, or who has a chronic, critical medical condition or terminal illness. A completed IPOST creates a clear declaration of the patient’s healthcare treatment choices and assures that the patient’s wishes are fulfilled at the prescribed time.

You may change or revoke Advance Directive documents at any time regardless of your mental or physical condition. Preferably any changes should be signed and dated, and copies given to your physician, family, and appointed agent. While Iowa law does not require you to revoke the form in writing, your doctor must be informed.

The Iowa State Bar Association has prepared a form containing both Advance Directives. These forms contain explicit instruction on how to execute these Advance Directives. Requirements for a Living Will and a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care are the same. You must complete the date of completion on the form, then either have two people over the age of 18 witness your signature and sign the witness form or use a notary. If you use a notary, witnesses are not required.