Advance Health Care Directives and Living Wills for Cudahy Residents

Decide what you want the document to communicate

A useful starting point is to consider the treatment preferences you want in writing. An advance health care directive can express health-care wishes. Thinking through those preferences separately from the question of who may make decisions can help you describe what you want the document to cover.

You do not have to treat a general statement of wishes and a particular preference as the same thing. Consider what you want the people involved to know, what questions you would like to raise, and which points you have not yet resolved. Those are planning topics to organize and discuss, not medical advice about which treatment to choose.

• Which health-care wishes do you want the directive to express?
• Are there preferences or questions you want to clarify before planning?
• What would you like the person involved in decision-making to know about your wishes?

Keep written instructions and agent selection distinct

An advance health care directive can both express health-care wishes and identify someone to make health-care decisions. These functions are connected, but they address different questions: what preferences you want recorded, and whom you want identified for health-care decision-making.

If you are considering someone for that role, think about the responsibilities you want to discuss with them and how your written preferences fit into the plan. Naming a person does not turn the health-care document into a financial planning document. A separate financial power of attorney serves a different financial role.

• Make a list of the preferences you want recorded.
• Separately note questions about the person you may identify for health-care decisions.
• Keep questions about financial matters separate from health-care planning.

Plan how relevant documents can be found

As an optional preparation step, consider where you plan to keep your relevant documents and which people should know how to locate them. You may also want to prepare a short note identifying the preferences or questions you want to discuss. These practical steps can help you organize the planning conversation without assuming that one arrangement works for everyone.

Preparing and keeping relevant documents accessible is distinct from registering information about an executed directive. Registration is a separate consideration; it does not replace thinking about how the document itself will be available to the people who may need it. If you have questions about that distinction, include them in your planning discussion.

• Consider where you will keep relevant documents.
• Decide who should know how to locate them.
• Treat document access and registration information as separate planning questions.

Prepare for a focused planning conversation

Before a conversation with the firm, you may want to gather any existing planning documents and make two short lists: the health-care preferences you want to express, and questions about identifying someone to make health-care decisions. Mark any preferences or choices you are still considering. This preparation is optional; it is a way to organize your questions, not a legal requirement.

Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. can discuss advance health care directive planning virtually with people throughout California or in person at its Novato office. A useful next step is to identify the points you want to address and ask how the written preferences and decision-maker role relate to your planning goals.