Illinois Living Will

Operative Date

Your living will becomes operative when a copy is provided to your attending physician; and you are determined by your attending physician to be incompetent and in a terminal condition or in a state of permanent unconsciousness.
 

Duty of Attending Physician(s)

When your living will becomes operative, your physician and other health care providers shall act in accordance with its provisions.  If your attending physician or other health care provider cannot in good conscience comply with the provisions of your living will or if the policies of the health care provider preclude compliance, your attending physician or health care provider shall so inform you, or, if you are incompetent, shall so inform your agent, or, if an agent is not named in your living will, shall so inform your family, guardian or other representative.  Your physician and health care provider shall make every reasonable effort to assist in the your transfer to another physician or health care provider who will comply with your living will.
 

Revocation

You may revoke your declaration at any time and in any manner.  The revocation shall be effective when you express your intention to revoke the declaration, except that, if you have made your attending physician aware of the declaration, the revocation shall be effective upon its communication to the your attending physician by yourself, a witness to the revocation, or other health care personnel to whom the revocation is communicated by such a witness.
 

Executing and Delivering Your Living Will

After you have completed your directive you should sign it before two witnesses. Before you sign in front of two witnesses pay particular attention to the qualifications contained in the witness statement. You should provide a copy of your completed advance directive to your attending physician and other health care providers and they shall make it a part of your medical records. You should also give a copy to trusted family members.