Quickly create your Washington Health Care Directive and Living Will

You can complete FindLaw’s attorney-created health care directive and living will forms in less than an hour at home. Our guided process takes you through a few easy steps and includes a free HIPAA release form. You’ll be able to download, print and sign your documents in no time.

Get my forms

We back your purchase with a 30-day guarantee

Find the estate planning form that’s right for you

Do you want to talk to a lawyer about your estate planning needs?

You may have a unique situation or have specific questions about what is right for you and your family. In these cases, it may be best to talk to an attorney.

I’d like to be connected with a lawyer.

I’d like to use FindLaw’s Do-It-Yourself Form Builder.

Speaking with
a FindLaw Attorney

Our directory of experienced, local attorneys can help you with circumstances such as:

What’s included:

Being part of a blended family
Caring for children with special needs
Establishing and maintaining trusts
…and any other concerns you have!

Do you have children from a previous relationship or a child with special needs?

There are special considerations to make if you have a blended family or a child with special needs. In these cases, it may be best to talk to an attorney.

Yes

Speaking with
a FindLaw Attorney

Our directory of experienced, local attorneys can help you with circumstances such as:

What’s included:

Being part of a blended family
Caring for children with special needs
Establishing and maintaining trusts
…and any other concerns you have!

Do you have a large estate or an interest in more advanced estate planning tools like trusts?

If your estate equals or exceeds a value of $1 million, or needs special estate planning tools like trusts, it may be best to talk with an attorney.

Yes

Speaking with
a FindLaw Attorney

Our directory of experienced, local attorneys can help you with circumstances such as:

What’s included:

Being part of a blended family
Caring for children with special needs
Establishing and maintaining trusts
…and any other concerns you have!

Are you looking to have your estate planning basics covered?

Our Estate Planning Package includes a Last Will & Testament, Health Care Directive & Living Will, and Financial Power of Attorney to cover all of your basic estate planning needs.

Yes

Do you have a spouse with similar needs?

Yes

Do you have minor children?

If you have minor children, you will want to name a guardian for them.

Yes

Do you have pets?

If you have a pet or pets, you will want to name someone to care for them.

Yes

Do you want to leave gifts to people or a charity?

If you want to give items or money to people or charities, you will want to make what are known as “specific gifts.”

Yes

Do you own a business?

If you own a business or a share of a business, you will want to plan for succession of ownership.

Yes

Do you want to decide how your property is distributed when you pass away?

Yes

Do you want someone to handle your health care decisions if you are unable?

In case you are incapacitated, you will want to list your health care preferences and name someone to handle your health care decisions.

Yes

Do you want to specify someone who can make financial decisions for you if you are unavailable or incapacitated?

Yes

Do you have a spouse with similar needs?

Yes

Do you have a spouse with similar needs?

Yes

Do you want to specify someone who can make financial decisions for you if you are unavailable or incapacitated?

Yes

Do you have a spouse with similar needs?

Yes

Do you have a spouse with similar needs?

Yes

Do you want someone to handle your health care decisions if you are unable?

In case you are incapacitated, you will want to list your health care preferences and name someone to handle your health care decisions.

Yes

Do you want to specify someone who can make financial decisions for you if you are unavailable or incapacitated?

Yes

Do you have a spouse with similar needs?

Yes

Do you have a spouse with similar needs?

Yes

Do you want to specify someone who can make financial decisions for you if you are unavailable or incapacitated?

Yes

Do you have a spouse with similar needs?

Yes

Speaking with
a FindLaw Attorney

Our directory of experienced, local attorneys can help you with circumstances such as:

What’s included:

Being part of a blended family
Caring for children with special needs
Establishing and maintaining trusts
…and any other concerns you have!

Estate Planning Package

For One Person

*Select your state

$135

What’s included:

Last will and testament
Health care directive & living will
Financial power of attorney
Free HIPAA release form
A comprehensive plan — for less
Free changes and revisions for one full year after purchase

*Select your state

Financial Power of Attorney

For One Person

*Select your state

$39

What’s included:

Try our easy step-by-step guide
Create your state-specific documents before you buy
Only purchase if you are satisfied with your estate planning documents
Create a power of attorney that’s customized to your wishes and your state’s laws
Free changes and revisions to your document for a full year after purchase

*Select your state

Health Care Directive & Living Will

For One Person

*Select your state

$39

What’s included:

Try our easy step-by-step guide
Create your health care directive and living will before you buy
Only purchase if you are satisfied with your estate planning documents
Create a document that’s customized to your wishes and your state’s laws
Free HIPAA release form
Free changes and revisions to your document for a full year after purchase

*Select your state

Last Will and Testament

For One Person

*Select your state

$79

What’s included:

Try our easy step-by-step guide
Create your documents before you buy
Only purchase if you are satisfied with your estate planning documents
Create a last will and testament that’s customized to your wishes and your state’s laws
Free changes and revisions to your will for a full year after purchase

*Select your state

Estate Planning Package

For Two People

*Select your state

$255

What’s included:

Two wills, health care directives & living wills, and financial powers of attorney
Two free HIPAA release forms
You and your loved one create your own estate plans tailored to your individual needs
Attorney-approved documents customized to your state’s laws
Free changes and revisions for one full year after purchase

*Select your state

Financial Power of Attorney

For Two People

*Select your state

$78

What’s included:

Try our easy step-by-step guide
Create your state-specific, attorney-approved documents before you buy
Only purchase if you are satisfied with your estate planning documents
Create an attorney-approved power of attorney that’s customized to your wishes and your state’s laws
Free changes and revisions to your document for a full year after purchase

*Select your state

Health Care Directive & Living Will

For Two People

*Select your state

$78

What’s included:

Try our easy step-by-step guide
Create your state-specific, attorney-approved documents before you buy.
Only purchase if you are satisfied with your estate planning documents
Create an attorney-approved document that’s customized to your wishes and your state’s laws
Free HIPAA release form
Free changes and revisions to your document for a full year after purchase

*Select your state

Last Will and Testament

For Two People

*Select your state

$149

What’s included:

Try our easy step-by-step guide
Create your state-specific, attorney-approved documents before you buy
Only purchase if you are satisfied with your estate planning documents
Create two wills customized to your wishes and your state’s laws
Free changes and revisions to your wills for a full year after purchase

*Select your state

Health Care Directive & Living Will + Financial Power of Attorney

For One Person

*Select your state

$78

What’s included:

Try our easy step-by-step guide
Create your health care directive and living will before you buy
Only purchase if you are satisfied with your estate planning documents
Create a document that’s customized to your wishes and your state’s laws
Free HIPAA release form
Free changes and revisions to your document for a full year after purchase
Create your state-specific documents before you buy
Create a power of attorney that’s customized to your wishes and your state’s laws

*Select your state

Last Will and Testament + Financial Power of Attorney

For One Person

*Select your state

$118

What’s included:

Try our easy step-by-step guide
Create your documents before you buy
Only purchase if you are satisfied with your estate planning documents
Create a last will and testament that’s customized to your wishes and your state’s laws
Free changes and revisions to your will for a full year after purchase
Create your state-specific documents before you buy
Create a power of attorney that’s customized to your wishes and your state’s laws
Free changes and revisions to your document for a full year after purchase

*Select your state

Last Will and Testament + Health Care Directive & Living Will

For One Person

*Select your state

$118

What’s included:

Try our easy step-by-step guide
Create your documents before you buy
Only purchase if you are satisfied with your estate planning documents
Create a last will and testament that’s customized to your wishes and your state’s laws
Free changes and revisions to your will for a full year after purchase
Create your health care directive and living will before you buy
Create a document that’s customized to your wishes and your state’s laws
Free HIPAA release form
Free changes and revisions to your document for a full year after purchase

*Select your state

Health Care Directive & Living Will + Financial Power of Attorney

For Two People

*Select your state

$156

What’s included:

Try our easy step-by-step guide
Create your state-specific, attorney-approved documents before you buy.
Only purchase if you are satisfied with your estate planning documents
Create an attorney-approved document that’s customized to your wishes and your state’s laws
Free HIPAA release form
Free changes and revisions to your document for a full year after purchase
Create your state-specific, attorney-approved documents before you buy
Create an attorney-approved power of attorney that’s customized to your wishes and your state’s laws

*Select your state

Last Will and Testament + Financial Power of Attorney

For Two People

*Select your state

$227

What’s included:

Try our easy step-by-step guide
Create your state-specific, attorney-approved documents before you buy
Only purchase if you are satisfied with your estate planning documents
Create two wills customized to your wishes and your state’s laws
Free changes and revisions to your wills for a full year after purchase
Create an attorney-approved power of attorney that’s customized to your wishes and your state’s laws
Free changes and revisions to your document for a full year after purchase

*Select your state

Last Will and Testament + Health Care Directive & Living Will

For Two People

*Select your state

$227

What’s included:

Try our easy step-by-step guide
Create your state-specific, attorney-approved documents before you buy
Only purchase if you are satisfied with your estate planning documents
Create two wills customized to your wishes and your state’s laws
Free changes and revisions to your wills for a full year after purchase
Create your state-specific, attorney-approved documents before you buy.
Create an attorney-approved document that’s customized to your wishes and your state’s laws
Free HIPAA release form
Free changes and revisions to your document for a full year after purchase

*Select your state

Why create a Washington Health Care Directive and Living Will?

A Washington health care directive and living will allows family members and healthcare workers to know your medical treatment preferences if you ever become incapacitated. With a health care directive and living will, you can leave individual instructions about the types of end-of-life care and life-sustaining treatments you would like to receive. FindLaw has made the process simple, quick, and effective, so there is no reason not to have one.

FindLaw provides everything you need:

Learn about your options for a DIY health care directive and living will
Use the guided process to create a personalized health care directive and living will
Find out how to make your health care directive and living will valid
Find answers to common questions about health care directives and living wills

Last updated: February 01, 2022

Written by:

Linda Long, J.D.

Contributing Author

Reviewed by:

Tim Kelly, J.D.

Contributing Author

Washington Health Care Directive and Living Will Options to Fit Your Needs

Health Care Directive & Living Will
For One Person

A do-it-yourself health care directive & living will that’s easy to personalize.

$39

What’s included:

Step-by-step guided process

A health care directive and living will tailored to your needs

Attorney-approved document compliant with your state’s laws

Free HIPAA release form

Free changes and revisions to your document for up to a full year after purchase

* Select your state:

BEST VALUE

Estate Planning Package
For one person

All the forms you need to create a personal estate plan

$135

What’s included:

Last will and testament

Health care directive & living will

Financial power of attorney

Free HIPAA release form

A comprehensive plan — for less

Free changes and revisions for up to one year after purchase

* Select your state:

How It Works

Create your health care directive & living will in under an hour.

Answer Some Questions

Decide who will be your health care agent/proxy and which medical treatments you would request or refuse.

Create an Account

Creating an account is easy, quick, and secure. Save your information as you go and return when you have time.

Complete Your Document

Once you answer the relevant questions, we do the hard part and create your unique document.

Print, Sign & Make It Legal

Print and sign your document according to the instructions. Give a copy to your doctors and agent/proxy.

What’s Next to Make My Washington Health Care Directive and Living Will Valid?

Follow these steps:

Decide what kind of care and treatment you will receive.

Suppose you are diagnosed with a terminal illness or become permanently unconscious. In that case, you will not be able to make your own choices about medical care. Therefore, it is wise to be prepared. To adequately prepare for a time when you are incapacitated, you must consider the following medical treatment preferences:

The use or withdrawal of life support
The use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Life-prolonging procedures
Pain management treatments
Life-support treatment
Life-prolonging treatment
Admittance to a long-term facility
Admittance to an adult care facility
Surgical treatment

Choose an agent.

You must choose a person to act as your health care agent. This is the person you trust to advocate for you and ensure that your wishes are honored. Your agent must be an adult. They should know you well enough to make medical decisions for you.

The role of a health care agent in advance care planning is vital because this person serves as your voice. In the absence of explicit instructions, your health care agent may have to make decisions on your behalf even if you do not leave an advance directive.

Sign and notarize.

Sign your advance directive in front of two adult witnesses and have it notarized.

You May Want to Speak With a Lawyer if:

Your family disagrees with your medical choices
You don’t know who to appoint as your agent
You have questions about life prolonging measures
You want legal review of your completed document

Find a Local Estate Planning Lawyer

Ready to get started on Your Washington healthcare directive & living will? It’s free to start.

Create My Form

Washington Health Care Directive and Living Will FAQs

Show all | Hide all

What are the legal requirements to make a valid Washington health care directive and living will?

In Washington state, the requirements for a legally valid living will include:

The person making a living will be at least 18 years old
The person making a living will must be of sound mind
Two witnesses must see the person sign their health care directive and living will
The witnesses must not be related to the person making a living will, and they cannot benefit from the living will

What is a health care directive and living will?

A health care directive and living will is a legal document that states a patient’s medical preferences. It is only effective once a person becomes unable to speak or communicate their medical treatment preferences due to some sort of permanent incapacity.

What are health care values?

Your health care values are your medical treatment preferences. You are the ultimate decision-maker in your medical care decisions. You must consider your stance on the following:

- Life-sustaining treatment
- Types of treatment
- Hospice care facilities
- Long-term care facilities
- Life-prolonging treatment
- Natural death
- Life-prolonging acts withdrawal
- Wishes about resuscitation
- Withdrawal of life support

Does my health care directive and living will say who will make decisions for me?

An important part of advance care planning is choosing a health care agent, also known as a health care proxy. Your health care agent is responsible for making your medical wishes known and ensuring that your treatment preferences are honored. The health care proxy should know your health care values.

Can I still make my own decisions?

Yes, you can still make your own decisions. The provisions in the advance directive are only applicable once you are diagnosed with a terminal condition or deemed by two physicians to be in a permanent unconscious condition. The only time that an advance directive will take effect is when you cannot make decisions for yourself.

Also, you can change your health care directive and living will at any time. However, be sure to forward a copy of the new health care directive and living will to the health care facility where you will be treated, as well as to your health care proxy and close family.

Who should create a health care directive and living will?

Advance directives should be written by anyone that wants to remain in control of their medical treatment preferences in the event they become incapacitated. Each of us must be able to advocate for ourselves when it comes to health care. An advance directive allows us to remain in control even when we cannot speak.

Am I required to do anything else after making a Washington health care directive and living will?

Make sure that a copy of your advance care directive is a part of your medical record. Ensure that you have a copy for yourself and another for your health care agent. If you decide to change your advance directive, be sure to make the updated version available to your health care team and your health care agent right away.

Complex Family Situation? Need Additional Guidance?

Contact a local estate planning attorney.

Quickly create your Washington Health Care Directive and Living Will

Find the estate planning form that’s right for you

Okay, let’s get started!

Do you want to talk to a lawyer about your estate planning needs?

Thank you for taking our quiz! Your answers suggest you might benefit from:

Speaking with a FindLaw Attorney

Great! Let’s keep going.

Do you have children from a previous relationship or a child with special needs?

Thank you for taking our quiz! Your answers suggest you might benefit from:

Speaking with a FindLaw Attorney

Good to know! You’re doing great.

Do you have a large estate or an interest in more advanced estate planning tools like trusts?

Thank you for taking our quiz! Your answers suggest you might benefit from:

Speaking with a FindLaw Attorney

Okay! You’re good at this.

Are you looking to have your estate planning basics covered?

Good to know! How about this next one?

Do you have a spouse with similar needs?

Got it! How about this next one?

Do you have minor children?

Sounds good! Let’s continue.

Do you have pets?

Understood! You’re doing great.

Do you want to leave gifts to people or a charity?

Okay! We’re making great progress.

Do you own a business?

Noted! Just a few more questions.

Do you want to decide how your property is distributed when you pass away?

Sounds good! We’re almost done.

Do you want someone to handle your health care decisions if you are unable?

Understood! Last question…

Do you want to specify someone who can make financial decisions for you if you are unavailable or incapacitated?

Good to know! How about this next one?

Do you have a spouse with similar needs?

Good to know! How about this next one?

Do you have a spouse with similar needs?

Understood! Last question…

Do you want to specify someone who can make financial decisions for you if you are unavailable or incapacitated?

Good to know! How about this next one?

Do you have a spouse with similar needs?

Good to know! How about this next one?

Do you have a spouse with similar needs?

Sounds good! We’re almost done.

Do you want someone to handle your health care decisions if you are unable?

Understood! Last question…

Do you want to specify someone who can make financial decisions for you if you are unavailable or incapacitated?

Good to know! How about this next one?

Do you have a spouse with similar needs?

Good to know! How about this next one?

Do you have a spouse with similar needs?

Understood! Last question…

Do you want to specify someone who can make financial decisions for you if you are unavailable or incapacitated?

Good to know! How about this next one?

Do you have a spouse with similar needs?

Thank you for taking our quiz! Your answers suggest you might benefit from:

Speaking with a FindLaw Attorney

All done! Based on your answers, we recommend:

Estate Planning Package

All done! Based on your answers, we recommend:

Financial Power of Attorney

All done! Based on your answers, we recommend:

Health Care Directive & Living Will

All done! Based on your answers, we recommend:

Last Will and Testament

All done! Based on your answers, we recommend:

Estate Planning Package

All done! Based on your answers, we recommend:

Financial Power of Attorney

All done! Based on your answers, we recommend:

Health Care Directive & Living Will

All done! Based on your answers, we recommend:

Last Will and Testament

All done! Based on your answers, we recommend:

Health Care Directive & Living Will + Financial Power of Attorney

All done! Based on your answers, we recommend:

Last Will and Testament + Financial Power of Attorney

All done! Based on your answers, we recommend:

Last Will and Testament + Health Care Directive & Living Will

All done! Based on your answers, we recommend:

Health Care Directive & Living Will + Financial Power of Attorney

Thank you for taking our quiz!
Your answers suggest you might benefit from:

Speaking with
a FindLaw Attorney

Thank you for taking our quiz!
Your answers suggest you might benefit from:

Speaking with
a FindLaw Attorney

Thank you for taking our quiz!
Your answers suggest you might benefit from:

Speaking with
a FindLaw Attorney

Thank you for taking our quiz!
Your answers suggest you might benefit from:

Speaking with
a FindLaw Attorney

Health Care Directive & Living Will
For One Person

Estate Planning Package
For one person