Choose a Health-Care Decision Maker in Placentia

Start with the decision-maker question

A health-care directive can designate an agent to make health-care decisions. Before a consultation, consider who you would trust to understand your priorities, communicate with others, and make decisions in light of what you have shared. The person you choose does not have to be the person who handles your finances: health-care authority and financial authority serve different purposes.

Think beyond a single name. Consider whether you want an alternate, and whether your preferred person would be willing and able to take on the role. These are planning questions to discuss, not a checklist of legal qualifications.

• Who would listen carefully to your views and communicate them clearly?
• Who could remain steady if family members have different opinions?
• Who would you want considered if your first choice could not serve?

Separate the agent choice from treatment preferences

Choosing an agent answers who you want involved in health-care decisions. It is a different planning conversation from describing your own treatment preferences. Consider discussing both, while keeping clear which instructions are about the person’s role and which express your preferences.

You may want to think about how you would like your agent to understand your priorities and what information you want to share with that person. Bring questions about how to communicate those preferences to your consultation. This page is focused on selecting and preparing to discuss an agent, rather than advising you about particular medical choices.

Gather useful information before a remote consultation

A little preparation can make a virtual discussion more focused. You do not need to arrive with every decision settled. A short list of possible agents, alternates, and questions can help identify what you still need to consider.

If you already have planning documents, make a note of what they are and what you want clarified. The California Courts’ legal-documents resource and the California Secretary of State’s advance health-care directive information can help you identify the subject of your questions. Ask how a health-care appointment relates to any separate financial authority you may be considering.

• Write down your first-choice agent and any alternate you are considering.
• Note questions about communicating with your chosen person and keeping them informed of your priorities.
• List any existing planning documents you want to discuss, without assuming that one document covers every kind of authority.
• Set aside a private place for the video or phone conversation and keep your questions nearby.

Know what this planning choice does—and does not do

A health-care agent designation concerns health-care decisions; it is not the same as granting financial authority. If you are also considering someone to handle financial matters, raise that as a separate question rather than assuming the health-care appointment covers it.

Naming an agent also does not, by itself, communicate every treatment preference you may have. Consider whether you want to discuss both the person you trust to make decisions and the way you want your preferences conveyed. The practical next step is to bring your candidate choices and questions to a consultation, then clarify what you want addressed before deciding how to proceed.