Leaving will. Legal, ethical and professional implications Section: TEACHING TO LEARN Authors1Myriam Fernández Martín, 2Cristina Francisco del Rey, 3Araceli García Suso, 1Raquel Grijalvo Uriel, 4Jose Antonio López García, 5Yolanda Núñez Gelado Position 1Consultoras de Sanidad, IT Deusto. Madrid.2Profesora titular. Departamento de Enfermería, Universidad de Alcalá.3Profesora. Escuela de Enfermería Puerta de Hierro. Insalud. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.4Director de Enfermería, Hospital de la Princesa, Insalud, Madrid.5Subdirectora de Enfermería, Hospital de la Princesa, Insalud, Madrid. Contact address Myriam Fernández Martín. EUE Universidad Alcalá de Henares. Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona, Km 33,600. 28871 Madrid. Contact email: myriamfm@yahoo.es Abstract This is the first of two articles that presents the concept and the purpose of a living will, as well as its current development status and application in our setting. The paper also presents an analysis based the perspective of bioethical principles to elaborate an informed opinion of the dimensions of a living will.The second article will deal with the importance of the living will for nursing personnel. Keywords: living will; ethical principles; informed consent; euthanasia; Belmot´s reportNuremberg´s Code Versión en Español Título: El testamento vital. Implicaciones legales, éticas y profesionales