AG Nixon has long been an advocate of making end-of-life decisions now while you're able, and a new Missouri law gives you more power to do that. You now have control over what happens to your organs and tissues after your death. In the past, your survivors had the final say. Even if you marked the back of your driver's license or joined the Missouri Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, your survivors could still overrule your wishes. No more.

Under the law, if you indicate your wishes to donate (or not to donate) body parts, those wishes must be honored. You can do this through your advance directive or by enrolling in the Donor Registry, maintained by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

To get started with all this, check out our publication Life Choices (see image).  This will walk you through all the end-of-life decisions you need to make - including wills, funeral plans and naming a durable power of attorney.