When Tami Thomas' 36 year-old brother was killed more than three years ago, Thomas said she knew he wanted to donate his organs.

"We knew what he wanted verbally," said Thomas, a social worker at Tendercare West assisted-living center in Lansing. But their mother wouldn't allow his organs to be donated, and Thomas said she wishes her brother had gotten it in writing.

"It's a touchy subject," Thomas said. "Why would I want to make my (last) wishes when I've got my whole life ahead of me?"

But legal experts say it is important to lay out advanced medical directives - the younger, the better.

"As soon as you become a legal adult, you should be thinking about this," said Paul Arshagouni, director of the MSU Health Law program. "Most people in their early 20s don't think about this kind of thing."

National attention is turning to the right-to-die debate, with Florida resident Terri Schiavo - who has been in a vegetative state for 15 years - caught in the middle. Her husband, Michael Schiavo, claims his wife wouldn't want to live in a vegetative state, but her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler said they believe a miracle is still possible. On Friday, Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was removed by court order and will not be reinserted after a federal appeals court denied her parents' appeal Wednesday. The Florida Legislature chose not to intervene. Doctors say she'll survive for one to two weeks.

In Michigan, Rep. Joel Sheltrown, D-West Branch, said he plans to introduce legislation to bar adulterous spouses' right to make decisions about life support. Sheltrown said because of the fact that Michael Schiavo has two children with another woman there is cause to question his motives.

Arshagouni said as this story unfolds, people need to realize how important it is to create written legal documentation - especially when they are young and healthy.

"People wait because it's easy to put off and nobody wants to think about that," Arshagouni said. "Fortunately it's easy to do, and if people actually do it then they can do it really quickly."

"Peace of Mind" forms, which help people detail their medical directions, are available online at on the Michigan Legislature Web site and similar forms, or advanced medical directives, are available at various long-term care centers. The completed forms must be given to the person's physician.

To make it easier for patients, nursing homes and hospices often give information about how to make medical instructions to their patients and their families.

It's important to make wishes as legally binding as possible, said Lars Egede-Nissen, executive director of the Hospice of Lansing. Michigan's laws surrounding living wills are not completely binding, and specific medical directions are necessary to state exactly what the individual wants.

"The clearer you make it, the better it is," Egede-Nissen said.

After her brother died, Thomas said she gave her written medical wishes to her doctor and made sure her family members had forms so they could do the same. At Tendercare, Thomas said she has seen people question what their relative wants, and the forms helps ensure that their final wishes are respected.

Jeff Towns, president and chief executive officer of the Michigan Hospice & Palliative Care Organization said most Americans do not have written wishes. But younger people might think differently than they would if they were older - a good reason to get it in writing.

"You never know when you're going to need one," he said.

Even if patients give directions to doctors, decisions should be discussed with loved ones as well, Egede-Nissen said.

"I wish every person in this country would have a conversation today about what would they want and have it available," he said.

"These things tear families apart, and this is a time when the family should be together."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.