Most high-income professionals have a wealth plan.
Few have a death plan.
And that gap is costing families more than money.
A living will isn't about being morbid.
It's about being the kind of person who handles the hard stuff so your family doesn't have to.
You've spent years building something real — assets, businesses, income, legacy.
But if you become incapacitated tomorrow, and there's no document telling doctors what you want, that decision falls on the people you love most.
That's not a gift.
That's a burden.
TL;DR
The move: Create a living will that documents your medical treatment preferences before you need it.
The risk: Without one, your family makes life-or-death decisions under pressure — with no guidance and no legal protection.
The upside: Complete clarity for your doctors, your family, and your estate — with zero ambiguity.
The Strategy
A living will is a legal document that specifies your preferences for medical care if you're incapacitated and can't communicate.
We're talking about decisions like CPR, ventilators, artificial nutrition, dialysis, and palliative care.
These aren't hypothetical conversations for retirees.
They're decisions that can happen to anyone, at any age, after a car accident, a stroke, or a sudden medical event.
Here's what most people miss: a living will isn't about giving up.
It's about staying in control.
Wealthy families don't leave these decisions to chance.
They document preferences, store copies with their physicians, and integrate the living will into a broader estate structure — right alongside their trusts, LLCs, and asset protection layers.
Because the whole point of building wealth is protecting what you've built.
And protecting what you've built includes protecting your family from impossible decisions made under impossible circumstances.
One more thing worth knowing: a living will and a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order are not the same thing.
A DNR specifically refuses CPR.
A living will is broader — it covers the full range of life-sustaining treatments across different medical scenarios.
You may need both.
And if you spend time in multiple states, your document needs to be valid in each of them.
The Playbook
Getting this done isn't complicated. But it does require the right steps.
Step 1: Know what you're documenting
Identify your preferences on the key decisions: CPR, mechanical ventilation, artificial nutrition and hydration, dialysis, and palliative/comfort care.
Think through multiple scenarios — terminal illness, persistent vegetative state, irreversible brain damage.
Step 2: Use a state-specific form
Living will requirements vary by state.
You need the right format, the right signature requirements, and the right number of witnesses.
Don't use a generic template you found online.
Step 3: Integrate with your broader estate plan
A living will works alongside — not instead of — a healthcare proxy (who makes decisions if the will doesn't cover a specific scenario) and your overall estate documents.
If you don't have a trust or will in place yet, this is the moment to build the full picture.
Step 4: Make it accessible
Share copies with your primary care physician, your hospital, and your family.
Store a digital copy somewhere secure.
Review it every few years, or after any major health change.
Mistakes to avoid:
Assuming your spouse automatically has legal authority to make medical decisions (they may not)
Waiting until you're older — incapacitation has no age requirement
Creating the document, but storing it somewhere no one can find it
Action Plan
The hard truth is that most people procrastinate on this because it's uncomfortable.
But your family can't afford your discomfort.
Trust & Will makes it simple to create, store, and share your legal estate planning documents — including your living will — entirely online, without the back-and-forth of traditional attorneys.
It's the easiest way to get this handled, and it starts at a fraction of what most estate attorneys charge.
Get your living will done at trustandwill.com — because the best time to do this was yesterday, and the second best time is today.
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See you next Saturday,
Donny Gamble
Author Disclosure: This content reflects my personal opinions and is provided for educational purposes only. I am not an investment adviser, broker-dealer, or tax professional, and nothing here should be considered financial, legal, or tax advice. All financial decisions involve risk, and tax rules can be complex. Please do your own research and consult a licensed professional before acting on anything shared here.