What Is a Living Will in Ohio?
Direct Answer
A living will in Ohio is a legal document that communicates your wishes about life-sustaining medical treatment if you become terminally ill or permanently unconscious and can no longer make informed decisions about that treatment. It allows you to provide instructions in advance so your physicians and loved ones know how you want certain end-of-life medical decisions handled.
A living will is one of the most important healthcare documents in an estate plan. While most people associate estate planning with wills, trusts, and distributing property after death, planning for your own medical care can be just as important.
A comprehensive Estate Planning in Ohio strategy should address both what happens to your property after death and who will make healthcare decisions, or what instructions will apply, if you become unable to speak for yourself.
If you would like help preparing a living will or reviewing your existing healthcare documents, you can schedule a free 15-minute phone call with an attorney.
A Living Will Communicates Your Healthcare Wishes
The primary purpose of a living will is to make your wishes known before a serious medical situation occurs.
Ohio law allows an adult of sound mind to execute a declaration concerning the use, continuation, withholding, or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment.
This declaration is commonly called a living will.
Rather than requiring your loved ones to guess what you would want, the document provides instructions that may become legally operative under the circumstances specified by Ohio law.
For example, you may want to address whether certain life-sustaining treatments should be continued if you are terminally ill and there is no reasonable possibility that you will recover the ability to make informed decisions.
These decisions can be difficult for families, particularly when relatives have different opinions about what should happen.
A living will allows you to express your own wishes while you still have the ability to make those choices.
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When Does an Ohio Living Will Become Effective?
An Ohio living will does not become operative simply because you have been hospitalized, developed a serious illness, or become temporarily unconscious.
Ohio Revised Code Section 2133.03 establishes specific requirements before a living will becomes operative.
Generally, the declaration must be communicated to the attending physician. The attending physician and another examining physician must determine that the patient has the terminal condition or permanently unconscious state addressed by the declaration.
The attending physician must also determine that the patient can no longer make informed decisions about life-sustaining treatment and that there is no reasonable possibility of regaining that capacity.
Additional statutory requirements apply, particularly when the declaration concerns a permanently unconscious state.
This means a living will is intended for specific circumstances, not every situation in which someone needs medical care.
Our next article, When Does a Living Will Take Effect in Ohio?, will explain these requirements in greater detail.
What Is a Terminal Condition Under Ohio Law?
A terminal condition has a specific legal meaning in Ohio.
It is not simply any serious or potentially life-threatening illness.
Under Ohio Revised Code Section 2133.01, a terminal condition generally involves an irreversible, incurable, and untreatable condition from which there can be no recovery and in which death is likely to occur within a relatively short time if life-sustaining treatment is not administered.
The required medical determination must be made by the attending physician and another examining physician.
This distinction matters because someone may have a serious chronic illness and still not meet Ohio's legal definition of a terminal condition.
A living will should not be understood as an instruction to stop treatment whenever a medical diagnosis is serious.
What Does Permanently Unconscious Mean?
Ohio law also allows a living will to address circumstances in which a person is in a permanently unconscious state.
This is different from being asleep, sedated, or temporarily unconscious following an accident or medical procedure.
Ohio Revised Code Section 2133.01 defines a permanently unconscious state using specific medical criteria involving an irreversible condition and the absence of awareness.
The determination requires medical evaluation under the statutory standards.
A person who is temporarily unconscious but expected to recover does not automatically meet those requirements.
That is one reason Ohio law requires more than a single person's opinion before a living will becomes operative.
What Medical Treatments Can a Living Will Address?
A living will primarily concerns life-sustaining treatment.
Depending on the document and the circumstances, this may involve treatments or interventions that sustain life when the patient meets the applicable statutory requirements.
For example, decisions may involve mechanical ventilation, resuscitation, or other life-sustaining measures.
Ohio law also contains specific requirements concerning nutrition and hydration, particularly when a person is in a permanently unconscious state.
These matters should not be treated as interchangeable. Different types of treatment may be subject to different legal requirements.
A properly prepared living will should reflect your preferences while complying with Ohio law.
The purpose is not to predict every possible medical situation. It is to establish legally recognized instructions for the circumstances the document is designed to address.
A Living Will Is Different From a Healthcare Power of Attorney
Although both documents involve medical decisions, they serve different purposes.
A living will provides instructions about certain life-sustaining treatments when specific conditions exist.
A healthcare power of attorney appoints someone you trust to make healthcare decisions when you lack the capacity to make those decisions yourself.
The healthcare agent may need to address medical situations that are not covered by your living will.
For example, you could temporarily lose the ability to make informed decisions following a serious accident without being terminally ill or permanently unconscious.
Your healthcare power of attorney may become operative in that situation even though your living will does not.
This is why many Ohio estate plans include both documents.
Our article Do I Also Need a Living Will in Ohio? explains why a healthcare power of attorney does not necessarily replace the need for a living will.
What Happens If Your Living Will and Healthcare Power of Attorney Disagree?
Sometimes a person's healthcare documents contain provisions that appear inconsistent.
For example, a living will may provide instructions concerning life-sustaining treatment while a healthcare agent believes a different decision should be made.
Ohio law addresses this situation.
Under Ohio Revised Code Section 2133.03(B)(2), a valid living will generally supersedes a valid healthcare power of attorney to the extent the documents conflict when the principal is in a terminal condition or permanently unconscious state covered by the declaration.
This is an important reason to prepare the documents together.
Your healthcare agent should understand your living will and know that their authority may be limited by the instructions you have already provided.
For a more detailed explanation, see Can a Healthcare Power of Attorney and Living Will Conflict in Ohio?
Does an Ohio Living Will Need to Be Notarized?
An Ohio living will must satisfy specific execution requirements to be legally valid.
Under Ohio Revised Code Section 2133.02, the declaration must be signed and dated and must either be properly witnessed or acknowledged before a notary public.
If witnesses are used, Ohio law requires two qualified adult witnesses and imposes restrictions on who may serve.
Certain relatives, the attending physician, and the administrator of a nursing home in which the declarant is receiving care cannot serve as witnesses.
A notary acknowledgment is an alternative to the witness procedure.
Proper execution matters because a document that does not satisfy the applicable legal requirements may create problems when healthcare providers need to rely on it.
Can You Change Your Mind After Signing a Living Will?
Yes.
Signing a living will does not mean your healthcare preferences must remain unchanged for the rest of your life.
Your wishes may evolve as your health, family circumstances, or personal beliefs change.
Ohio law allows a declarant to revoke a living will, and a person who remains capable of making informed healthcare decisions retains the right to make those decisions.
If you want to change the instructions contained in your living will, preparing and properly executing a new document is generally the clearest approach.
Our article Can I Change My Living Will in Ohio? discusses why reviewing and updating your healthcare documents is an important part of maintaining an estate plan.
Who Should Have a Copy of Your Living Will?
A living will is most useful when the appropriate people can locate it.
Your healthcare agent should generally know that you have a living will and understand the instructions it contains.
Your physicians and healthcare providers should also have access to the document when appropriate.
Ohio law provides that an attending physician or healthcare personnel acting under the physician's direction who receives a copy of a living will must make it part of the patient's medical record.
Keeping the document somewhere accessible and providing copies to appropriate people can reduce confusion during an emergency.
You should also make sure outdated copies are replaced if you later revise your living will.
Why a Living Will Matters for Your Family
One of the greatest benefits of a living will is the guidance it provides to the people closest to you.
Without clear instructions, family members may struggle to determine what you would want during a serious medical crisis.
Some relatives may believe every available life-sustaining treatment should be continued. Others may believe you would not want certain interventions under particular circumstances.
Those disagreements can create additional stress during an already difficult time.
A living will helps shift the focus away from what individual family members prefer and toward the instructions you provided while you were capable of making your own decisions.
It does not eliminate every possible disagreement, but it can provide important legal and personal guidance.
Takeaway
An Ohio living will allows you to communicate your wishes concerning certain life-sustaining medical treatments if you become terminally ill or permanently unconscious and can no longer make informed decisions about that treatment.
It is different from a healthcare power of attorney, which appoints someone to make healthcare decisions on your behalf.
For many Ohio residents, preparing both documents provides a more complete healthcare plan and helps ensure that personal wishes remain central to difficult medical decisions.
The next important question is when those instructions actually become operative. When Does a Living Will Take Effect in Ohio? explains the medical determinations and legal requirements that must be satisfied.
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