• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Mendel Law Firm, L.P.

Attorneys & Counselors

Call Now: (281) 759-3213

  • FB
  • TW
  • IN
  • RSS
LP Payment button
  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • About The American Academy
    • Advantages of Working With Our Firm
    • Attorney and Staff Profiles
    • Mission Statement
    • Multimedia
    • Published Books
    • The Academy Fellow Designation
  • Services
    • Asset Protection & Business Planning
    • Elder Law & Medicaid Services
      • Are You A Caregiver
      • Coping With Alzheimer’s
      • Guardianship & Conservatorship
      • Hospice Care
      • Emergency Medicaid & Nursing Home Planning
      • Medicaid Planning
      • Veteran’s Benefits
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Estate Planning Services
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Financial Planning Assistance
    • Incapacity Planning
    • IRA & Retirement Planning
    • Legacy Planning
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Pet Planning
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Trust Administration & Probate
  • Seminars
  • Testimonials
    • Client Testimonials
    • Representative Clients
    • Review Us
  • Resources
    • Areas We Serve
      • Baytown
      • Conroe
      • Galveston
      • Houston
      • Pasadena
      • Woodlands
      • West University Place
    • Elder Law Reports
    • Elder Law Resources
      • Galveston Elder Law
      • Houston Elder Law
      • Sugar Land Elder Law
      • West University Place Elder Law
      • Woodlands Elder Law
    • Estate Planning Resources
      • Estate Planning Checkup
      • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
      • Estate Planning Definitions
      • Estate Planning Reports
      • Incapacity Planning Definitions
      • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
      • Top Estate Planning Techniques
      • Top 10 Estate and Legacy Planning Techniques
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Asset Protection Planning
      • Avoidance Tax Planning
      • Avoiding Probate
      • Business Succession Planning
      • Charitable Gifting
      • Elder Law
      • Estate Planning
      • Frequently Asked Questions for Families Without an Estate Plan
      • IRA and Retirement Planning
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Living Trusts
      • Medicaid
      • Medicaid Planning
      • Nursing Home Planning
      • Pet Planning
      • Power of Attorney
      • Probate
      • Trust Administration
      • Trust Administration & Probate
      • Trusts
      • Veterans Benefits
      • Wills
    • LGBTQ Resources
    • Probate Resources
      • Houston Probate
      • Sugarland Probate
      • Woodlands Probate
      • West University Place Probate
    • Probate & Trust Administration Resources
      • Bereavement Resources
      • How to Know if You Need Extra Help With Your Grieving
      • Loss of a Loved One
      • The Mourner’s Bill of Rights
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Trust
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Will
      • Trust Administration & Probate Definitions
    • Special Needs Resources
    • Newsletters
  • Contact Us
  • BLOG
Home » BLOG » Are Living Wills Obsolete?

Are Living Wills Obsolete?

September 12, 2012 by Stephen A. Mendel, Estate Planning Attorney

Medicine is a rapidly developing science. Every year brings new advances in technology that can help sustain life longer than the previous year. This actually creates problems in preparing for your own end of life care. A Living Will might no longer be an appropriate document if you do not want your life to be sustained by artificial means.

Living Wills typically state that if you are suffering from a terminal condition with no hope of recovery that doctors should not sustain your life by artificial methods. In most cases, it is a basically a way to tell doctors not to use life support if they believe that you have no chance of ever coming off the support. However, as new medical technologies are developed, doctors have less certainty about a patient’s ability to recover from previously terminal conditions. A new technology might give a slight chance for recovery.

Because of this uncertainty, many people are choosing not to create traditional Living Wills. Instead they are attempting to create documents that tell doctors their wishes about the quality of life. These may or may not be effective legal documents. The best thing you can do is to appoint a Health Care Power of Attorney who knows your wishes and who can direct doctors to act accordingly.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Stephen A. Mendel, Estate Planning Attorney
Stephen A. Mendel, Estate Planning Attorney
Mr. Stephen Mendel is an attorney who focuses a substantial part of his practice on estate planning. Mr. Mendel’s guiding principle is to provide his clients with quality legal services tailored to each client’s specific needs and goals.
Stephen A. Mendel, Estate Planning Attorney
Latest posts by Stephen A. Mendel, Estate Planning Attorney (see all)
  • Thought of the Day - June 7, 2023
  • Thought of the Day - May 31, 2023
  • Thought of the Day - May 24, 2023

Filed Under: Incapacity Planning Tagged With: Elder Law, incapacity planning

Other Articles You May Find Useful

  • Advanced Directives – Do You Need One?
  • How Do I Know When My Parent Needs A Guardian?
  • Incapacity Planning – 5 Important Reasons Why You Need an Incapacity Plan
  • Alternatives for Property Management upon Incapacity
  • Should I Have a Durable Power of Attorney in Houston Texas?
  • What Is Incapacity?

About Stephen A. Mendel, Estate Planning Attorney

Mr. Stephen Mendel is an attorney who focuses a substantial part of his practice on estate planning. Mr. Mendel’s guiding principle is to provide his clients with quality legal services tailored to each client’s specific needs and goals.

Primary Sidebar

The Mendel Law Firm

Follow Us

  • FB
  • TW
  • IN
  • RSS

Blog Subscription

Subscribe to our blog to get all of the latest updates from our attorneys.

HOUSTON

The Mendel Law Firm, L.P.
1155 Dairy Ashford, Suite 104
Houston 77079
United States (US)
Phone: (281) 759-3213
Fax: 281-759-3214

Map

map

Office Hours

Monday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Footer

The Mendel Law Firm

The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this or associated pages, documents, comments, answers, emails, or other communications should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information on this website is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing of this information does not constitute, an
attorney-client relationship.

© 2023 Mendel Law Firm, All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Disclaimer | Site Map | Powered by American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys