Health-Care Power of Attorney Planning for Berkeley Residents

Start with what has changed

An existing appointment can stop feeling like the right fit after a change in a relationship, a move, a change in someone’s availability, or a shift in how you want important conversations handled. You do not need to begin by choosing a replacement immediately. First identify what has changed and what you want the plan to accomplish now.

A health-care directive can designate an agent to make health-care decisions. That authority is different from authority over financial matters, so consider the health-care appointment on its own rather than assuming that a person involved in your finances is automatically the right health-care decision maker.

• What concern about the current appointment prompted you to reconsider it?
• Has your relationship with the named person, or their ability to take on the role, changed?
• Are there people you want involved in conversations even if you do not appoint them as decision makers?

Choose an agent for communication as well as trust

Think about how a prospective agent responds to pressure, listens to your priorities, and communicates with people who may disagree. Consider whether that person is willing and realistically able to take on the role. A close relationship alone may not answer those practical questions.

Identify one or more alternate candidates to discuss as part of the plan. For each, consider how they would learn what matters to you, how they would communicate with people you want kept informed, and how they would handle uncertainty. These are planning questions to help you compare candidates, not a legal checklist or a substitute for clarifying the authority you intend to grant.

• Who can hear your views without substituting their own preferences?
• Who is likely to be reachable and able to communicate clearly when a decision must be discussed?
• What would you want an alternate to know if the first person cannot serve?

Separate decision-making authority from treatment preferences

Choosing who may make health-care decisions and describing your treatment preferences are related, but distinct parts of planning. The directive can designate an agent; the appointment does not, by itself, explain every preference you want considered.

For this discussion, focus on the person or people you want to appoint, the scope of authority you intend, and how you want the agent to communicate with others. Consider treatment preferences separately: make notes about topics you want to address, without treating the agent-selection conversation as a substitute for expressing those preferences.

• Which decisions or conversations do you want the agent to handle?
• What information about your priorities should the agent understand?
• Who, if anyone, should the agent communicate with, and what do you want shared?

Prepare to revisit an outdated plan

Before a planning conversation, gather any existing health-care directive and make a short note of what no longer fits. You might list a change in circumstances, the questions you have about the current appointment, and the qualities you want in a new agent or alternate. If you are not sure whether a concern is about decision-making authority or treatment preferences, write it down for discussion rather than trying to resolve it in advance.

A useful next step is to compare the current plan with your present wishes and identify the specific points that need attention. Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. can discuss health-care power of attorney planning with Berkeley residents through virtual services. The firm’s in-person office is in Novato.