Advance Health Care Directives and Living Wills in Folsom

Separate your treatment wishes from who makes decisions

A useful starting point is to clarify two different things: what you want communicated about your health care, and who you want to make health-care decisions. An advance health care directive can address both by expressing wishes and identifying a decision-maker. Think through each purpose separately so the document reflects your preferences as well as your choice of person.

A financial power of attorney has a different role: it concerns financial decisions, not health-care decisions. If family members are discussing several planning documents together, identify which document is meant to address health care and which is meant to address finances. That simple distinction can prevent people from looking to the wrong document for guidance.

• What health-care wishes do you want recorded?
• Who should be identified to make health-care decisions?
• Are family members treating a financial power of attorney as though it covers health care?

Make your preferences understandable and usable

Before relying on a written directive, consider whether the people who may need to refer to it can find it and understand its purpose. A practical preparation step is to tell relevant family members where the document is kept and which person it identifies to make health-care decisions. This is about making the document accessible, not a substitute for recording your wishes in it.

Consider discussing your preferences in ordinary language with the people likely to be involved. A document and a conversation serve different practical purposes: the writing records your wishes, while a conversation can help others understand what you meant. This discussion is not medical advice; it is a way to identify questions you may want to raise with an appropriate health-care professional.

• Identify the document’s purpose and where it is kept.
• Consider who needs to know how to locate it.
• Write down questions about how to express your preferences for a later discussion.

Keeping a directive accessible is different from registering information

Preparing a directive and keeping the relevant documents accessible are separate from registering information about an executed directive. Registration information should not be confused with the document itself or treated as a replacement for making the document available to the people who may need it.

As you organize your records, ask what the people around you would actually need to locate: the directive, information about where it is kept, or both. Clarifying that practical point can help avoid relying on a record of information when someone needs to find the underlying document.

• Where will the directive be kept?
• Who should know where to find it?
• Have you distinguished the document from any information registered about it?

A focused review can resolve document questions

If you are unsure whether a document expresses your preferences, identifies the person you intend, or is being confused with a financial document, gather the papers and list the questions that matter to you. A focused conversation can help you clarify the document’s purpose and what information your family needs to locate it.

Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. provides virtual services statewide from its Novato office. For a Folsom matter, a practical next step is to organize the documents you already have and note what you want clarified about your treatment preferences and document access.