People are now making a new type of Will - it is called a Living Will, and it can save you from going bankrupt in case God forbid any family member is hospitalised because of a severe illness...

The concept of a Living Will is relatively new to India... and the awareness is low at the moment, but Courts want people to be educated on the concept.

A Living Will is different from a regular Will that you use to pass on assets to your family members...

It is a document in which you state that in case you go through a medical situation, where you are unable to take a decision for yourself or speak for yourself, what procedures should medical professionals be allowed to carry out on you or not...

A lot of people have seen loved ones on ventilators for months, and being kept alive through feeding tubes knowing that the chance of recovery is almost negligible or next to nothing, but such long hospitalisation on ventilators keeps draining the family's resources...

Nor does it give any true life to the patient...

So the Supreme Court through its rulings in 2018, and then subsequently in 2023, made the process of making a Living Will easier...

With support from two witnesses, and a medical practitioner, you mention in writing that if you are in a medical situation of a coma or a vegetative state for a few days, where should you be taken care of - should it be at home, or at the hospital...

What processes, ventilators, tubes, CPRs, what kind of pain killer medications, dialysis, should be permitted to be used on you...

And who will be the person to liaison with the doctors, and in which state should you be allowed to leave.

The process should be followed in consultation with a lawyer and a medical professional, and is especially relevant if you have a family member who is old or under medical supervision.