In the wake of the Terri Schiavo saga, there has been a media blitz about your need for a living will. The media says this will insure your wishes will be carried out by doctors and hospitals charged with your care.

Some very basic research shows that a living will may not be the best solution, or at least not a living will alone.

The term "futile" care crops up in various articles. What this means is that if a care provider determines that any treatment is futile, your living will can be ignored and treatment stopped.

A second point, and maybe more important than futile care, is the fact that a living will cannot cover all possible circumstances. In this case, the doctors are left with no instructions and are guided only by their judgement.