Make your Free Oregon Living Will

An Oregon Living Will is a legal document that lays out your preferences related to health care, such as your refusal or acceptance of medical treatment, in addition to the (optional) appointment of a trusted agent or decision maker.

The person making a Living Will is known as the "principal," and the person or entity gaining permission to carry out the principal's wishes is called the "agent." Suited for residents of Oregon, this free Living Will can be used in Clackamas County, Multnomah County, Washington County, and in every other part of the state. Each Oregon Living Will form from Rocket Lawyer can be personalized for your specific situation. This official legal document will provide verification of your decisions to healthcare institutions, and it will confirm that your agent has the authority to act in your interest.

It is fast and simple to set forth your medical preferences using a free Oregon Living Will template from Rocket Lawyer:

1. Make your Living Will - Provide a few simple details, and we will do the rest
2. Send or share it - Look over your wishes with your healthcare agent(s) or seek legal help
3. Sign and make it legal - Mandatory or not, notarization/witnesses are recommended

This method is often going to be notably less time-consuming than hiring and working with a conventional attorney. If needed, you may start this Living Will on behalf of a family member, and then help them sign it when ready. Please note that for this document to be valid, the principal must be mentally competent when they sign. In the event that the principal is already incapacitated and unable to make their own decisions, a conservatorship generally will be required. When dealing with such a scenario, it's best for you to connect with a lawyer.

Every person over 18 years old ought to have a Living Will in place. While it's unpleasant to acknowledge, a day will likely come when you are not able to make your own healthcare decisions. Typical circumstances in which you may find it useful to make or update your Living Will include:

• You are managing a terminal illness
• You plan to be hospitalized for a surgical procedure
• You are preparing to live in a community care facility
• You are aging or dealing with ongoing health issue

Regardless of whether your Oregon Living Will is being prepared as part of a forward-looking plan or created as a result of a change in your health, notarization and witnesses can help to protect your document if its authority is doubted by a third party.

Making a Living Will is normally easy to do; however, you could still have legal questions. Seeking out a legal professional to proofread your Oregon Living Will might be time-intensive and fairly costly. A more cost-effective route is through the On Call attorney network. When you become a Premium member, you can get your document reviewed or send specific legal questions. As always, Rocket Lawyer will be by your side.

The cost of meeting and hiring a traditional attorney to write a Living Will might add up to anywhere between two hundred and one thousand dollars. Unlike many other Living Will template websites that you may find elsewhere, Rocket Lawyer gives Premium membership holders up to 40% in savings when hiring a lawyer, so an attorney can assess the situation and take action if you ever require support.

Attached to your Oregon Living Will form, you'll find a list of helpful tips on what you should do next. You also may take any or all of the following actions with your PoA: making edits, downloading it, printing it out, and/or signing it. Finally, you should give a copy of the fully signed document to your agent(s), care providers, and other impacted parties.

The specifications governing Living Wills vary in each state; however, in Oregon, your Living Will must be signed by two witnesses or a notary public. The selected witnesses should not include your attending physician, and at least one should not be related to you (such as a spouse, adopted child, or family member) or any other heir/beneficiary. The owners, operators, and employees of your healthcare facility and/or residential care facility are also prohibited. As a basic principle, witnesses will need to be over 18 years old, and none of them should simultaneously be acting as your healthcare agent.

See legal references for a Living Will in Oregon: ORS 127.510