Advance Health Care Directives and Living Wills for Rohnert Park Residents

Start with what has changed

Before revisiting a directive, identify the change that makes the current document feel out of step. Your preferences may have shifted, your circumstances may be different, or the document may no longer be easy for the relevant people to locate. Naming the change helps focus the review on whether the written instructions still communicate what matters to you.

A useful preparation step is to write a short list of the circumstances that prompted the review and the questions you want to resolve. Consider which statements in the current document still feel accurate and which you want to discuss changing. This is a way to prepare for a planning conversation, not a medical recommendation about which treatments to choose.

• Note what has changed since you last considered your instructions.
• Identify language or preferences you want to revisit.
• List questions about keeping the document accessible to the people who may need it.

Make the written instructions clear to you

An advance health care directive can express your health-care wishes and identify someone to make health-care decisions. This page focuses on the written-wishes part: the instructions you want documented, understood, and available when they may be needed.

As you review the wording, ask whether it still communicates your preferences in a way that feels clear to you. If a statement is broad or no longer reflects your circumstances, flag it for discussion rather than assuming it will convey a different meaning. A planning conversation can help you consider how to express your wishes in the document; it cannot decide which medical choices are right for you.

• Mark instructions that no longer sound like your current wishes.
• Prepare questions about wording that you find unclear or incomplete.
• Keep the focus on communicating preferences, rather than trying to use the directive for financial decisions.

Separate health-care wishes from agent selection

Written health-care wishes and choosing someone to make decisions are related, but they are distinct functions of an advance health care directive. This review can concentrate on whether your instructions still express what you want. If you also have questions about who should make decisions, treat those as a separate part of your planning discussion rather than letting them obscure the review of your written preferences.

A financial power of attorney has a different role: it concerns financial matters, not health-care wishes. Keeping that distinction in mind can help you identify whether a concern belongs in your health-care directive or in a separate financial-planning document.

Plan for the document to be findable

Preparing the relevant documents and keeping them accessible is distinct from registering information about an executed directive. Registration does not replace the practical task of making sure the document itself can be located by the people who may need it. As part of your review, consider where the current document is kept and how the relevant people would know how to find it.

You can bring the existing directive and your notes about what has changed to a planning conversation. Ask what steps would help ensure the document reflects your wishes and remains accessible. The office is in Novato, with virtual service available statewide; Rohnert Park residents can discuss their planning needs remotely.

• Gather the current document and your list of changes or questions.
• Think through who needs to know where the document is kept.
• Ask whether the document and your plan for making it accessible still fit your circumstances.