Document end-of-life preferences in Missouri: Missouri Living Will

It is fast and easy to document your medical wishes using a free Missouri Living Will template from Rocket Lawyer:

1. Make the document - Answer a few simple questions, and we will do the rest
2. Send and share it - Discuss your wishes with your healthcare agent or get legal advice
3. Sign it - Mandatory or not, notarization and witnesses are a best practice

This route, in many cases, will be much less time-consuming than hiring the average lawyer. If needed, you can start a Living Will on behalf of your spouse, an elderly parent, or another family member, and then have them sign once you've drafted it. Please keep in mind that for this document to be legally valid, the principal must be a mentally competent adult when they sign. In the event that the principal has already been declared legally incompetent, a conservatorship could be required. In such a situation, it is a good idea to speak with an attorney .

Anyone who is over 18 years old ought to have a Living Will. While it may be unpleasant to think about, there might come a day when you are no longer able to make your own healthcare decisions. Common circumstances in which it may be helpful to make or update your Living Will include:

• You are undergoing a medical procedure that requires anesthesia
• You are getting older or dealing with ongoing health issues
• You are managing a terminal condition
• You are planning to live in a care facility

Regardless of whether your Missouri Living Will has been produced as a result of a change in your health or as part of a long-term plan, witnesses and notarization can often help to protect your document if its credibility is disputed. Under Missouri law, this document is invalid during pregnancy.

Making a Living Will is typically simple to do, but you or your agent(s) could have legal questions. Hiring an attorney to review your document can take longer than you expect on your own. An easier approach to consider is to get help via the Rocket Lawyer On Call^® network of attorneys. Rocket Lawyer members are able to request feedback from an Rocket Lawyer network attorney with relevant experience or get answers to other questions. As always, you can be confident that Rocket Lawyer is by your side.

The fees associated with working with a lawyer to draft a Living Will might total between two hundred and one thousand dollars. Different from most other Living Will template providers that you might discover elsewhere, Rocket Lawyer provides Premium members up to 40% in savings when hiring a lawyer, so an Rocket Lawyer network attorney can represent you if you ever need help.

After creating the document using Rocket Lawyer, you will be able to retrieve it from your account on any device. You can also engage with your document in any or all of these ways: making edits, downloading it as a PDF document or Word file, printing it, and signing it. Attached to each Missouri Living Will form, there's a set of proposed steps you can take to finalize the document. Your agent(s), care providers, and other impacted parties should receive copies of your fully executed document.

The rules and restrictions will vary by state; however, in Missouri, your Living Will document must be signed by two witnesses. If you are naming a healthcare agent, then you also need a notary. As a general principle, witnesses should be over 18 years old, and none should also be your agent.