Living Wills & Advance Directives in Arlington, TX

Personalized Advance Directive Guidance From an Experienced Arlington Estate Planning Firm

A living will tells your doctors and family what you want when you can’t speak for yourself. Without one, that decision may fall to family members who disagree or default to state procedures that don’t reflect your wishes. At Law Office of Marilyn D. Garner, we prepare living wills and advance directives as part of a comprehensive estate planning practice serving Arlington, TX. With more than 30 years of experience and an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, we bring peer-recognized legal knowledge to documents that matter when time is critical.

Every client’s situation is different. We don’t hand you a blank form. We work through your specific goals, family circumstances, and existing documents to help your directive reflect what you intend.

Ready to put your wishes in writing? Call our Arlington, TX office at (817) 381-9292 or reach us through our online contact form to schedule a consultation with a living will attorney.

What Texas Law Calls a Living Will

Texas uses a specific statutory name for the document most people call a living will: the Directive to Physicians and Family or Surrogates. This instrument is governed by Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 166 and addresses one focused question: whether you want life-sustaining treatment continued or withdrawn if you have a terminal or irreversible condition and cannot communicate your wishes.

A Directive to Physicians operates during your lifetime, when you’re incapacitated. It has no effect on what happens to your property after you die. That’s the role of a last will and testament. The two documents serve entirely different purposes and are both part of a complete estate plan.

Three Advance Directive Documents Under Texas Law

Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 166, known as the Advance Directives Act, recognizes three distinct documents. Each addresses a different aspect of end-of-life and incapacity planning.

The documents Texas law recognizes are:

• Directive to Physicians and Family or Surrogates: Communicates your treatment preferences directly to physicians when you have a terminal or irreversible condition. This is the formal Texas equivalent of what most people mean when they say “living will.”
• Medical Power of Attorney: Names a trusted person to make healthcare decisions on your behalf whenever you’re unable to do so, not just at end of life. This is a broader grant of authority than the Directive to Physicians alone.
• Out-of-Hospital Do-Not-Resuscitate Order: Instructs emergency medical personnel not to attempt resuscitation in settings outside a hospital, such as at home or in a nursing facility.

When a Directive to Physicians and a Medical Power of Attorney name different agents, the document signed later in time controls. Getting these designations right from the start can help avoid conflicts during a crisis.

Execution Requirements for a Valid Texas Advance Directive

Signing rules matter. A Directive to Physicians signed incorrectly may not be honored by a treating physician. Under Texas law, a competent adult executes the directive by signing in the presence of two competent adult witnesses or by having the signature acknowledged before a notary public.

The witness requirements carry specific restrictions. Under Texas Health and Safety Code Section 166.033, Witness 1 can’t be someone you’ve named to make a healthcare or treatment decision on your behalf, can’t be related to you by blood or marriage, can’t stand to inherit from your estate, and can’t be your attending physician or that physician’s employee. Texas also permits electronic or digital signatures on advance directive documents if certain conditions are satisfied. Once executed, the directive remains in effect until you revoke it, and you may revoke it at any time regardless of your mental state at the moment of revocation. After signing, notify your physician and ask that the document be added to your medical record.

Attorney guidance through this process can reduce the risk of execution errors that could leave the document ineffective precisely when your family needs it most.

Why Attorney-Drafted Directives Serve Arlington Clients Better

Texas publishes statutory form templates for advance directives, and those forms are legally sufficient when signed correctly. What they can’t do is account for your family dynamics, your medical history, or how your directive interacts with the other documents in your estate plan.

We coordinate your advance directives with any existing wills, trusts, powers of attorney, guardianship declarations, and HIPAA authorization forms. If your Medical Power of Attorney and your Directive to Physicians name different agents, we flag that before it becomes a problem. Tailored directives can reduce ambiguity and the family disputes that ambiguity invites. We follow both the Texas Health and Safety Code and the Texas Estates Code to help ensure every document meets compliance requirements for Arlington clients.

Why Clients Choose Law Office of Marilyn D. Garner for Advance Directive Planning

Our firm has served clients in estate planning, wills, trusts, and probate for more than 30 years and holds the AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell. This designation reflects the ethical standards our peers have recognized over decades of practice. When we prepare a living will or advance directive, we understand not just the document itself but how it fits into everything else you’ve built.

Clients describe our approach as responsive and attentive. You won’t be treated as a file number. We take time to understand your situation and draft documents that reflect your intentions clearly. And because we handle wills, trusts, and probate, you can address every component of your estate plan with one firm rather than coordinating across multiple offices.

Our Process for Preparing Your Advance Directives

We begin with a consultation to understand your goals, health concerns, family dynamics, and any estate planning documents you already have. From there, we draft a Directive to Physicians, a Medical Power of Attorney, or both, depending on what your situation calls for. Every document is reviewed against Texas Health and Safety Code requirements and coordinated with any other instruments in your plan.

We guide you through the signing and witnessing process to ensure execution is correct. As your circumstances change, we’re available to update your documents so they continue to reflect your current wishes.

Advance Directives as Part of a Complete Arlington Estate Plan

A thorough estate plan addresses two separate periods: what happens after you die and what happens if you become incapacitated while you’re still alive. A Directive to Physicians and a Medical Power of Attorney handle the second period. A durable power of attorney covers financial and legal decisions during incapacity. A last will or trust handles asset distribution after death.

When all of these documents are prepared together, the agents named in each can be consistent, and the risk of conflicts between instruments is lower. We handle the full range of estate planning documents at Law Office of Marilyn D. Garner, so clients can address every component in one place rather than piecing together documents from different sources.

Start Your Living Will Consultation in Arlington

Putting your wishes in writing is one of the most direct ways to protect yourself and reduce the burden on your family during a difficult time. If you’re ready to prepare a living will, a Directive to Physicians, or a Medical Power of Attorney, we’re ready to help you do it right.

Contact Law Office of Marilyn D. Garner to schedule a consultation. Call us at (817) 381-9292 or use our online contact form to get started.