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South Dakota Living Will

A South Dakota Living Will is a legal document that lays out your preferences related to medical care, such as your acceptance or refusal of certain medical treatments, along with the (optional) naming of a chosen healthcare decision maker.

The person making a Living Will is known as the "principal," and the people or entities obtaining permission to carry out the principal's wishes are called "agents." Suitable for South Dakota residents, this Living Will is made for use in Lincoln County, Minnehaha County, Pennington County, and in any other part of the state. Any South Dakota Living Will form from Rocket Lawyer can be fully personalized to address your unique circumstances. As a result of this essential legal document, your healthcare institutions will have a record of your decisions, and your agent will be able to offer proof that they have been given the authority to make choices for you.

It's very simple to document your medical preferences using a free South Dakota Living Will template from Rocket Lawyer:

1. Make the document - Answer a few questions, and we will do the rest
2. Send or share - Go over your wishes with your healthcare agent(s) or get legal advice
3. Sign and make it legal - Optional or not, notarization and witnesses are recommended

This route is, in most cases, notably more affordable and convenient than hiring and working with your average provider. If needed, you may start this Living Will on behalf of an elderly parent, a spouse, or another family member, and then have that person sign it once you've drafted it. Please note that for this document to be accepted as legally valid, the principal must be mentally competent at the time of signing. In the event that the principal has already been declared legally incompetent, a court-appointed conservatorship may be necessary. In such a situation, it is important to speak with an attorney.

Every adult should have a Living Will. Though it can be unpleasant to acknowledge, there will likely come a day when you cannot make your own healthcare decisions. Common situations where it may be useful to make or update your Living Will include:

• You are preparing to live in a community care facility
• You have been diagnosed with a terminal illness
• You are getting older or dealing with ongoing health issues
• You are facing the possibility of surgery or hospitalization

Regardless of whether your South Dakota Living Will is being prepared as part of a long-term plan or produced in response to a change in your health, witnesses and notarization often help to protect your agent if someone questions their privileges. That said, a Living Will is not considered valid during pregancy in South Dakota.

Making a Living Will is usually easy to do, but you could still have questions. Having an attorney review your document may take longer than you'd expect if you try to do it on your own. An alternate approach could be to request help from attorney services at Rocket Lawyer. Rocket Lawyer Premium members can request feedback from an experienced attorney or get answers to additional questions. As always, you can live confidently with Rocket Lawyer by your side.

The cost of hiring and working with a law firm to produce a Living Will might be anywhere between two hundred and one thousand dollars, depending on where you are located. Rocket Lawyer offers much more than most other Living Will template providers that you might encounter. As a Rocket Lawyer member, you can get up to a 40% discount when hiring an attorney from our network.

After creating a customized Living Will form with the help of Rocket Lawyer, you will be able to get to it anytime, anywhere. You are encouraged to try any or all of the following actions with your document: editing it, downloading it as a PDF document or Word file, printing it out, or signing it. Attached to each South Dakota Living Will form, there is a set of helpful tips on what you should do next. Make sure to provide a final copy of the signed document to your agent(s) and care providers.

The requirements governing Living Wills will vary by state; however, in South Dakota, your document must be signed by two witnesses. Witnesses to your Living Will should not include your healthcare provider, their employees, or any relative, heir, or other beneficiary, including your spouse or adopted children. As a general rule, your witnesses must be 18 years old or older, and none should simultaneously be your healthcare agent.

Legal references for a Living Will in South Dakota: Chapter 34-12D