Life-sustaining treatment: option A or B
Guidance from Estate Advisory Group
It is the most serious question on the health and welfare form, and it has only two answers.
What the two options mean
| What it means | |
|---|---|
| Option A | Your attorneys can give or refuse consent to life-sustaining treatment on your behalf, acting in your best interests. |
| Option B | Your attorneys cannot decide this. Doctors decide, in your best interests, consulting your attorneys and family. |
Life-sustaining treatment means anything a doctor considers necessary to keep you alive — ventilation, resuscitation, clinically assisted nutrition and hydration, sometimes antibiotics or surgery.
How to think about it
- Choose option A if you trust a specific person to speak for you and you have talked to them about what you would want.
- Choose option B if you would rather clinicians decide, or you do not want to place that burden on your family.
- Either way, tell your attorneys what matters to you. The form does not carry your reasoning; conversation does.
- You can add a preference about your values without turning it into a binding instruction.
Getting it right on the form
One box, initialled
Tick only one option, and initial the box where the form asks. Ticking both, or neither, is one of the most common reasons an LP1H is returned.
Common questions
Does option A let my attorney end my life?
No. It lets them consent to or refuse treatment. Assisting death is unlawful, and no LPA can authorise it.
Can I change my mind later?
Only by making a new LPA. The choice cannot be amended after signing.
Read next
Ready to make yours?
Answer five quick questions to see whether our service suits you. No account and no payment needed.
This is general information about how Lasting Powers of Attorney work in England and Wales. It is not legal advice about your situation. What we do and do not do.
Published by Estate Advisory Group