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Tennessee law allows the execution of a
"living will" according to the "Tennessee Right to Natural Death
Act" which was passed in 1985. The
living will allows you to make the decision to not be kept alive by artificial
means if you have a terminal condition and there is no expectation of recovery.
T.C.A. § 32-11-102 discusses the legislative intent in
allowing living wills under Tennessee law.
This statute provides as follows:
(a) The general assembly declares it to be the law of the state of
Tennessee that every person has the fundamental and inherent right to die
naturally with as much dignity as circumstances permit and to accept, refuse,
withdraw from, or otherwise control decisions relating to the rendering of the
person's own medical care, specifically including palliative care and the use
of extraordinary procedures and treatment. The general assembly further
declares that it is in the public interest to facilitate recovery of organs
and/or tissues for transplantation and to provide mechanisms for individuals to
express their desire to donate their organs and/or tissues.
(b) The general assembly does further empower the exercise of this right
by written declaration, called a “living will,” as provided in this chapter.
T.C.A. § 32-11-105 provides a form for a living will under
Tennessee law. This statute provides a
form that is acceptable under Tennessee
law for a living will.
Additionally, T.C.A.
§ 32-11-104 provides specific requirements for the execution of a living
will. An executed living will can be
signed by "any competent adult person" under T.C.A.
§ 32-11-104. The declaration must be
in writing and signed by the principal and is valid if it is attested by a
notary public with no witnesses or witnessed by two witnesses without an
attestation of a notary public. If the
witness method is used then at least one of the witnesses must not be related
to the individual executing the living will document. T.C.A.
§ 32-11-104 provides requirements for execution of the living will document
as follows:
(a) Any competent
adult person may execute a declaration directing the withholding or withdrawal
of medical care to the person, to become effective on loss of competency. The
declaration must be in writing and signed by the principal. The declaration is
valid if the principal's signature is either attested by a notary public with
no witnesses or witnessed by two (2) witnesses without attestation by a notary
public. A witness is a competent adult, who is not the agent, and at least one
(1) of whom is not related to the principal by blood, marriage, or adoption and
would not be entitled to any portion of the estate of the principal upon the
death of the principal under any will or codicil made by the principal existing
at the time of execution of the declaration or by operation of law then
existing. The declaration shall contain an attestation clause that attests to
the witnesses' compliance with the requirements of this subsection (a). The
declaration shall be substantially in the form established in § 32-11-105. It
is the intent of the general assembly that this subsection (a) have retroactive
application.
A living will is a
very important document in Tennessee.
Many of you may recall the Terry Schiavo situation
where Terry Schiavo’s surviving husband and her parents fought for
approximately seven years over whether life support should be removed because
she was in a persistent vegetative state.
A living will allows you to make clear your exact desire should you be
found in this unfortunate predicament. It
could help prevent legal challenges and inter-family fights over your
intentions since you can make them clear in a living will.
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for updates from the Tennessee Wills and Estates blog.
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