Advance Health Care Directives and Living Wills for Cerritos Residents
Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. has one in-person office in Novato and provides virtual services throughout California. An advance health care directive can put your treatment preferences in writing and identify someone to make health-care decisions. Planning both parts helps clarify what you want communicated and who may act on your behalf.
Separate your instructions from the decision-maker’s role
An advance health care directive can serve two related but distinct purposes: expressing your health-care wishes and identifying a person to make health-care decisions. Written instructions communicate your preferences; naming someone addresses who may make decisions. Thinking about these separately can help you see whether your priorities are clear in both respects.
For example, you may have views about particular kinds of treatment but still need to consider who should make decisions when a situation calls for judgment. Or you may know whom you would trust while needing to put your preferences into words. These are planning examples, not medical recommendations.
Consider what you want your instructions to communicate
Start with the treatment preferences you want others to be able to find and understand. Consider whether your written instructions express the choices that matter to you, rather than assuming that the person named in the directive will automatically know or recall them. The document’s purpose is to communicate your wishes; it does not provide medical advice or choose treatment for you.
A useful preparation step is to write down, in your own words, the subjects you want to address and any questions about how to express those preferences. You can then discuss whether the document reflects what you intend to communicate. Keep the focus on your own values and preferences rather than trying to predict every possible medical situation.
Decide what authority you mean to give the named person
The person identified in an advance health care directive is the person designated to make health-care decisions. That role is different from writing down your treatment preferences: the named person’s role concerns decisions, while the instructions convey your wishes. Consider whether the person you have in mind understands the responsibility you want them to take on and can communicate or act in a way that respects your preferences.
A financial power of attorney has a different function: it concerns financial matters, not health-care decision-making. Do not assume that a person’s role under a health-care directive gives them authority over your finances, or that financial authority answers who should make health-care decisions. If you want to address both areas, consider them as separate planning questions.
Make the directive available when it may be needed
Preparing a directive and keeping it accessible are practical parts of planning. Think about which people may need to know that it exists and where they can find the document. A written preference or appointment can be less useful if the relevant people cannot locate the information when decisions arise.
Keeping the document accessible is distinct from registering information about an executed directive. Registration is about information concerning a directive that has been executed; it is not the same task as preparing the document or making a copy available to people who may need it. Consider which of those separate steps addresses your concern.
Prepare for a planning conversation
Before discussing your plan, note the preferences you want the document to communicate, the person you are considering for health-care decisions, and any questions about the distinction between health-care and financial authority. You may also want to identify who should know where the directive is kept. These notes can help focus a conversation on your intentions and on whether the document’s two roles are clear to you.
Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. serves Cerritos clients virtually from its California practice. A next step is to discuss your planning questions and what you want your directive to communicate.
Questions to discuss
Does a living will name the person who makes health-care decisions?
An advance health care directive can both express health-care wishes and identify someone to make health-care decisions. Those are distinct functions: the written instructions communicate preferences, while the named person is designated to make decisions. Consider both when reviewing what you want your planning document to do.
Does the person named in my health-care directive handle my finances?
A health-care directive concerns health-care wishes and health-care decision-making. A financial power of attorney serves a different financial role. Do not treat one appointment as automatically granting authority in the other area; consider each kind of authority separately.
Official resources
General information, not an assessment of your documents or circumstances. Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. has one office at 802 Grant Ave, Novato, CA 94945, and offers virtual services across California. A remote consultation does not itself authorize remote signing or a remote court appearance.
