A living will—also known as an Advance Health Care Directive—is a document in which the declarant or principal (person making the living will) specifies what kind of medical treatment the declarant does and does not want if the declarant has a medical emergency and is unable to communicate those wishes. A living will may direct health care providers to administer, withhold, or withdraw life-sustaining treatments if the declarant is in a terminal or irreversible condition.

Laws and terminology for documents related to living wills, Advance Health Care Directives, Do Not Resuscitate orders (DNRs), and other health care documents vary from state to state. These laws are generally located in a state’s statutes—often in the probate code or estates code.

In Utah, a living will is known as an Advance Health Care Directive (AHCD). Under Utah law, specifically the Utah Advance Health Care Directive Act (Utah Code Ann. §§ 75-2a-101 to 75-2a-122), an individual can create an AHCD to outline their health care preferences in the event they are unable to communicate due to a medical emergency. This document allows a person to specify whether they want to receive life-sustaining treatments if they are in a terminal condition or if they are permanently unconscious. The AHCD can also include a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order, which instructs health care providers not to perform CPR if the individual's heart stops or if they stop breathing. It is important for the document to be properly executed according to Utah law, which typically requires the signature of the declarant and either two witnesses or a notary public. The AHCD can also designate an agent to make health care decisions on the declarant's behalf if they are unable to do so themselves.