If you are interested in either enforcing or revoking a living will in Lombard, an attorney could provide you with the necessary steps to do either. Before you take any action, it is important that you learn of the potential ramifications of either action. Reach out to an attorney today to learn more.
Living wills could be enforced either by hospitals or courts. If an individual is being treated with death-delaying procedures, and their living will states that they would not want such procedures, the individual’s family or loved one could go to court and obtain an order for the individual to receive medical care in accordance with the living will.
The Illinois Living Will Act has penalties for physicians who willfully fail to record a determination of a terminal condition or intentionally ignore the terms of a living will. The penalties could often be enforced at the hospital level, and the hospital itself will be responsible for enforcing the living will.
A living will could be revoked verbally or in writing at any time by the individual who makes it, regardless of their mental or physical condition. The will may also be revoked if it is burnt, torn, destroyed, or defaced in any way that indicates an intent to void or cancel it.
If the individual expresses an intent to revoke the living will to someone over the age of 18, that person could sign a document stating that they were told by the individual that they want to revoke their living will. If a patient tells their doctor that they want to revoke their living will, the doctor has to record the fact in their medical records, including the time and date when they made that notification.
The circumstances under which a living will might be revoked are liberal, and it could be done without taking the individual’s mental state into account.
An individual could revoke their will in writing or by destroying or defacing it. Wills that are torn in half, burnt, or written over are considered revoked because the individual has expressed their intent to void the document.
The best way to revoke a will is to prepare a new one. A well-drafted will always states that any previous will is void.
An individual should revoke their will if there is any part of it that they want voided. If they no longer wish to follow through with any gift, grant of power, or term in their current will for any reason, they could revoke the entire will and have a new one prepared.
Unless the previous will is vastly different from the new will, individuals should wait until their new will is drafted before revoking the previous one; if the previous will is voided and the individual dies before the new one is prepared, they would die intestate and their final wishes might not be enforceable.
The primary unintended consequences of revoking a will are that the individual dies intestate and their loved ones are unable to carry out their final wishes or their assets cannot be allotted precisely as they saw fit.
Aside from the legal complexities of drafting a will, enforcing or revoking a Lombard will could present new and unintended challenges many people do not foresee upon acting. To make sure that what you wish is in line with what you wish to change or enforce, speak to an attorney today.
