To My Family, My Physician, My Lawyer and All Others Whom It May Concern:

By Andrea Sachs

, being of sound mind, make this statement of my wishes and instructions concerning my treatment.

Claire Angel, a Manhattan pianist, is active and healthy. Yet recently she had her lawyer draw up a living will, a signed, dated and witnessed document that allows people to state in advance their wishes regarding the use of life- sustaining procedures. Why such concern? "My life experience has prepared me to consider my own mortality," says Angel, 58, whose husband and mother are in nursing homes. "I would like to protect my children from having to make a difficult decision on my behalf."

More and more Americans are taking similar legal precautions in the hope of dying with dignity. "If you're incompetent or unconscious at the end of your life, someone will make the choice," says Fenella Rouse, executive director of the Society for the Right to Die. "If you don't want to make that decision, fine. But this is one of the ways of retaining control." Two groups, the Society for the Right to Die and Concern for Dying, both located in New York City, have distributed millions of living-will forms over the past 20 years. Other organizations, including the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys in Tucson, provide information on how to locate lawyers who specialize in drawing up such legal tools. In addition, many right-to-die advocates recommend the use of health-care proxies, documents authorizing another person to make medical decisions on one's behalf in the event of an incapacitating accident or illness.

Living wills usually serve two purposes: they describe what sort of physical condition is intended to trigger the document's provisions and list the types of treatment the person wishes to avoid. Experts recommend making the language as specific as possible, although there are no absolute guarantees. "You never know what a local prosecutor or doctor may do," says Giles Scofield, legal-services director of Concern for Dying. "There's no language that will always be perfect."

The main shortcoming of the living will is that it does not take effect unless a patient is terminally ill. State definitions of terminal illness vary, ranging from "imminent" death to death within a number of months. Thus people with debilitating strokes or Alzheimer's disease or those in permanent comas are unlikely to be protected by most living-will statutes. "Many people think they will be aided in these situations, but they may not be," says Leslie Pickering Francis, a law professor at the University of Utah. "For example, Nancy Cruzan's case does not fit most states' definitions of terminal illness."

Still, living wills and health-care proxies are the best means available to enforce one's wishes. For those who choose this route, experts make the following suggestions:

-- Obtain the proper forms or the help of an attorney.

-- Discuss your living will and proxy with your doctor. Make sure that copies are included in your medical records.

-- Be certain your living will reflects your precise wishes. Be aware of the limitations your state imposes.

-- Inform your family and friends that you have signed these documents. Give copies to those most likely to be contacted in case of an emergency.

-- Update the documents once a year.