Fillable Form Texas Living Will

What is the Texas Living Will?

The Texas Living Will or also referred to as an Advance Directive is a legal document to lay down your medical preferences when you are unable to make your wishes known because of illness or injury. Your medical preferences under this will are usually based on your values. Hence, you need to consider your tolerance of the treatments you would be willing to accept if you become seriously ill.

When making this Will, you may discuss your requests and wishes with your family, agent, and even physician. Your physician may help you by providing different resources to complete your will or advance directive. Texas law provides for two other important directives during your serious illness, namely the Medical Power of Attorney and the Out-of-Hospital-Do-Not-Resuscitate Order. You may also complete a directive on donating your organs and tissues when you pass away.

The person making a Living Will is called the “principal,” while the person or entity receiving the authority or permission to carry out the principal’s requests is known as the “agent.” Since this Will applies to residents of Texas, it can be used in the counties of Tarrant, Dallas, and even Harris.

You may download a PDF copy of the Texas Living Will Template from websites that offer such document templates. But you may electronically fill it out on PDFRun for your convenience.

How to fill out the Texas Living Will?

Before filling out the Texas Living Will, make sure that every piece of information you provide is true, accurate, and correct.

Directive

The first paragraph states that you, as the principal, recognize that the best health is based upon a partnership of trust and communication with your physician. If the time will come that you are unable to make medical decisions about yourself because of your illness or injury, the treatment preferences under this will shall be honored.

Name

Enter your name.

Treatment Preferences

Mark the appropriate item to determine what you request from your physician to do if you are suffering from a terminal condition from which you expect to die within six months, even with available life-sustaining treatment. You may select:

• I request that all treatments other than those needed to keep me comfortable be discontinued or withheld and my physician allow me to die as gently as possible; or
• I request that I be kept alive in this terminal condition using available life-sustaining treatment.

Take note that option two does not apply to hospice care.

Mark the appropriate item to determine what you request from your physician to do if you are suffering from an irreversible condition so that you cannot care for yourself or make decisions for yourself, and expect to die without life-sustaining treatment. You may select:

• I request that all treatments other than those needed to keep me comfortable be discontinued or withheld and my physician allow me to die as gently as possible; or
• I request that I be kept alive in this irreversible condition using available life-sustaining treatment.

Take note that option two does not apply to hospice care.

Additional requests

Enter any requests by listing treatments you do or do not want in specific circumstances. Such circumstances may include artificially administered nutrition and hydration or intravenous antibiotics. Be sure to state whether you want the particular treatment or not and discuss these matters with your physician.

After you sign this Texas Living Will Form, you understand and agree that only the treatment needed to keep you comfortable would be provided, and you would not be given life-sustaining treatments.

Appointment of Agents

Enter the names of the persons who will make health care or treatment decisions with your physician if you do not have a Medical Power of Attorney and cannot make your wishes known.

If the persons above are unavailable or if you have not designated a spokesperson, you understand that a spokesperson will be chosen for you following the standards specified in the laws of Texas.

If a Medical Power of Attorney has been executed, it means an agent has already been named and you do not need to list any additional names above.

If, in the judgment of your physician, your death is imminent within minutes to hours, even with the use of all available medical treatment, you acknowledge that all treatments may be withheld or removed except those needed to maintain your comfort. You understand that under Texas Law, this directive has no effect if you have been diagnosed as pregnant and will remain in effect until your revocation. No other person may revoke this.

Signature

Affix your signature.

Date

Enter the date.

City, County, State of Residence

Enter your city, county, and state of your residence.

Witness’s Signatures

This portion states that two competent witnesses must sign below, acknowledging the signature of the declarant. The witnesses may not be a person designated to make a health care or treatment decision for the patient and may not be related to the patient by blood or marriage.

The witnesses are also not entitled to any part of the estate and may not have a claim against the estate of the patient, and they should also not be the attending physician or employee of the attending physician.

Witness 1

Have Witness 1 affix their signature.

Witness 2

Have Witness 2 affix their signature.

How to file the Texas Living Will?

Once you are done filling out the Will, you must print your Texas Living Will PDF. It must not be made orally, or through audio, video, or another digital file.

There is no need to notarize your Living Will in Texas to make it legal. But you may “self-prove” your Will by visiting a notary public. You and your witnesses must sign an affidavit before the notary public, which states who you are and each of you knew you signed the Will.

A self-proving TX Living Will will help speed up the probate proceedings as courts can accept the Will without notice to the witnesses who signed it.