How Do I Revoke A Living Will?
Full Question:
I have a living will and want to revoke it. Is there a formal revocation procedure which I need to follow or is simple destruction sufficient?
01/04/2007 |
Category: Living Wills |
State: Washington |
#117
Answer:
A living will (known as a health care directive) may be revoked at any time by the declarant without regard to declarant's mental state or competency, and may be revoked by any of the following methods:
a. By being canceled, defaced, obliterated, burned, torn, or otherwise destroyed by the declarant or by some person in declarant's presence and by declarant's direction;
b. By a written revocation of the declarant expressing declarant's intent to revoke, signed, and dated by the declarant (this revocation becomes effective upon communication to the attending physician by the declarant or by a person acting on behalf of the declarant. The attending physician shall record in the patient's medical record the time and date when said physician received notification of the written revocation); or
c. By a verbal expression by the declarant of declarant's intent to revoke the directive (this revocation becomes effective only upon communication to the attending physician by the declarant or by a person acting on behalf of the declarant. The attending physician shall record in the patient's medical record the time, date, and place of the revocation and the time, date, and place, if different, of when said physician received notification of the revocation).