Advance Health Care Directives in Diablo, Contra Costa County

Decide what you want the instructions to communicate

An advance health care directive can serve two related but distinct purposes: expressing your health-care wishes and identifying someone to make health-care decisions. This page focuses on expressing preferences, rather than selecting or evaluating an agent.

Before discussing the document, think about what you would want a person making a health-care decision to understand about your wishes. Consider which values or preferences you want reflected and whether there are questions you would like to clarify. You may want to raise questions about a particular treatment or your medical circumstances with your health-care professionals.

The aim of this preparation is to make your intended message clearer—not to create a medical checklist. A useful question is whether someone who has not heard your views before could understand what you want the written instructions to convey.

• What values or preferences do you want the instructions to communicate?
• What do you want a decision-maker to understand about your wishes?
• What questions would you like to discuss before putting your preferences in writing?

Keep health-care instructions separate from financial authority

A health-care directive is not a substitute for planning about financial matters. A financial power of attorney serves a different role from an advance health care directive: one concerns financial matters, while the directive can communicate health-care wishes and identify someone to make health-care decisions.

That distinction can help you identify the right next planning question. If your concern is how to communicate treatment preferences, focus on the health-care directive. If your concern is who can handle financial matters, treat that as a separate question rather than assuming a health-care document provides financial authority.

If both topics matter to you, make a note to discuss them as separate parts of your planning. Questions about choosing a health-care agent are also distinct from the focus here: the written preferences you want your directive to express.

Gather your preferences and any documents you already have

For a planning conversation, write down the preferences you want to address and the questions you still have. If you have existing health-care documents, gather the versions you can locate and note where you keep them. This is a practical way to make the conversation more focused, not a legal checklist or a statement that any particular document is required.

Consider who may need to know where the document is kept and how they would find it. Preparing and keeping relevant documents accessible is distinct from registering information about an executed directive. Thinking about both can help you identify whether your next question is about the content of your instructions, access to the document, or registration.

Plan for access as well as content

Written preferences can be useful to the people who may need to consult them only if those people can locate the document. Think through who should know where it is kept, and whether your arrangements reflect your privacy preferences.

Registration is a separate consideration from preparing and keeping documents accessible. California resources describe this distinction; registration should not be confused with the document itself or with making it available to the people who may need it. If you are considering registration, ask what that step does and how it relates to your plan.

Discuss the right planning question

A useful next step is to gather any health-care documents you can locate and write down what you want your instructions to communicate. You can also note whether your open question is about written preferences, choosing someone to make health-care decisions, access to the document, or financial authority. Keeping those issues distinct can make it easier to focus a planning discussion.

Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. provides virtual services throughout California from its single physical office at 802 Grant Ave, Novato. Diablo is an unincorporated community; California-wide virtual service does not mean the firm has a Diablo office. A discussion can focus on general planning questions, but this page is not individualized legal or medical advice.