Quickly create your West Virginia 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.

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…and any other concerns you have!

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Speaking with
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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.

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Do you have a spouse with similar needs?

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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

The benefits of a West Virginia Health Care Directive and Living Will

In the event you become incapacitated, a West Virginia health care directive and living will ensures your medical wishes are carried out. Through this document (also called a “Combined Medical Power of Attorney and Living Will”) you can leave individual instructions about your desired end-of-life care and life-sustaining treatment. A health care directive and living will protects your autonomy, eases the burden on loved ones should the worst happen, and helps your medical team provide faster treatment that aligns with your values. Because FindLaw has made the process simple, easy, and quick, there’s 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

West Virginia 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 West Virginia Health Care Directive and Living Will Valid?

Follow these steps:

Make essential choices about your health care.

You must decide what sort of care you want should you are ever unresponsive and facing a terminal illness or condition. The types of care you’ll want to address in your health care directive and living will include:

Life-prolonging treatments
Admittance into long-term care
Admittance into hospice care
Allowing or prolonging a natural death
Wishes about resuscitation
Withdrawal of life support
Use of feeding tubes
Use of blood transfusions

Choose a health care agent.

A health care agent makes medical decisions on your behalf when you are unable to. When choosing a health care agent, you should look for certain characteristics. In addition to being at least 18 years old, a health care agent must be someone you trust to make medical decisions that align with your values. They should live in the vicinity so that they can be there for you when you are incapacitated.

You should also consider naming an alternate agent in case your primary agent is unavailable.

Choose appropriate witnesses.

Under West Virginia law, your health care directive and living will must have the signatures of at least two people. These witnesses cannot be:

A person who signed the living will for the principal at the principal’s direction
A relative of the principal either by blood or marriage
Named as a beneficiary of the principal’s estate, whether by will or by operation of law
Be the financially responsible party for the principal’s medical bills
The principal’s attending physician
The principal’s power of attorney or successor medical power of attorney

Sign and notarize.

In West Virginia, the person making a health care directive and living will, or another person whom the principal chose to sign in their place, must sign the document in front of at least two adult witnesses. The principal’s and the witnesses’ signatures must be 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 West Virginia healthcare directive & living will? It’s free to start.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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What is a health care directive and living will and how does it work?

A health care directive and living will is a legal document created by an individual to state their medical treatment preferences in the event of their incapacity. This document protects patients by keeping them in control of their medical care even if they cannot speak.

What are the legal requirements to make a valid living will in West Virginia?

In West Virginia, a living will is legally valid if it meets the following requirements:

Your living will must be in writing.
It must be signed by the principal or by someone else whom the principal directs to sign in their place if the principal is physically unable to sign themselves.
The document must be dated.
The document must be witnessed by at least two witnesses.
The document must be notarized.

Can anyone or anyting override a health care directive and living will?

Only you can revoke or amend your health care directive and living will. Your health care agent and medical team are legally required to respect your wishes. You have the final say about your medical treatment preferences.

Who should make a health care directive and living will in West Virginia?

Every adult in West Virginia should have a health care directive and living will. FindLaw’s do-it-yourself option allows you create this essential legal document in the comfort of your own home and without the cost associated with going to an attorney.

Do I need to hire an attorney to draft my health care directive and living will in West Virginia?

You do not need to hire an attorney to complete your health care directive and living will. FindLaw’s team of attorneys has drafted West Virginia health care directive and living will form that you can trust to help you complete this legal document quickly and easily.

FindLaw is not a law firm, and the forms are not a substitute for the advice or services of an attorney. If you have a unique family situation, anticipate a family member objecting to your medical treatment preferences, or otherwise have questions, you can contact a local attorney with FindLaw’s attorney database.

Complex Family Situation? Need Additional Guidance?

Contact a local estate planning attorney.

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