Advance Health Care Directives and Living Wills in Fairfax

Start with the wishes you want in writing

Before focusing on wording, identify the health-care preferences you want an advance health care directive to express. The purpose of this part of the planning is to communicate your wishes in writing, so begin with what you want another person to understand about your preferences.

You do not have to treat written instructions and choosing a decision-maker as one decision. An advance health care directive can do both, but the purposes differ: written wishes communicate your preferences, while identifying someone addresses who may make health-care decisions.

• What preferences do you want the document to communicate?
• What circumstances or questions would help you describe those preferences clearly?
• Separately, do you want the directive to identify someone to make health-care decisions?

Use your own records to make the decision concrete

As an optional preparation step, jot down the preferences you want to express and any questions that make them hard to put into words. You can also gather existing health-care planning documents and note what you want to clarify or keep consistent. These notes can help you explain your priorities in a planning conversation; they are not a prescribed checklist.

Keep the focus on what you want the document to communicate. A practical question is whether a person reading your instructions would be able to understand the preference you intended to express. If a preference is difficult to describe, record what you are uncertain about rather than assuming you must resolve every possible situation before beginning.

• Write down the wishes you want documented.
• Collect relevant planning documents you already have, if any.
• Note questions about the wording or meaning you want to discuss.

Keep the agent decision separate from financial authority

The choice of whom to identify as a health-care decision-maker is separate from the content of your written treatment preferences. Consider each purpose on its own: what you want the document to say about your wishes, and whether you want it to identify someone to make health-care decisions.

A financial power of attorney serves a different role involving financial decisions. It should not be confused with an advance health care directive's health-care functions. If your immediate question is about health-care wishes, keep the discussion centered on those wishes rather than treating financial authority as a substitute.

Plan how people will find the document

Preparing an advance health care directive and making it accessible to people who may need it are distinct steps. Consider who should know where the relevant document is kept and how you will communicate that location. A practical preparation question is: if someone needed to locate your written wishes, what would help them know where to look?

California has an Advance Health Care Directive Registry. Registering information about an executed directive is distinct from preparing the document and keeping it accessible. Treat these as separate considerations: registration does not replace making the document or letting relevant people know how to find it.

Bring a focused question to your planning conversation

A useful starting point is to bring your written preferences, any existing planning documents you want to discuss, and questions about what you want the directive to communicate. You can then consider separately whether you also want it to identify someone to make health-care decisions and how relevant people will locate the document.

For Fairfax residents, Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. provides virtual services throughout California from its Novato-based practice. A focused next step is to discuss the preferences you want recorded and the practical plan for making the document findable.