Advance Health Care Directives in Eldridge, Sonoma County

An advance health care directive can communicate health-care wishes and identify someone to make health-care decisions. Thinking through what you want the document to say—and how people who may need it can find it—helps keep treatment preferences distinct from financial authority.

Discuss your situation Call 844-492-4600

Decide what you want the writing to do

Start by separating two questions: What health-care preferences do you want to communicate, and do you want to identify someone to make health-care decisions? An advance health care directive can address both. Written instructions communicate wishes; identifying a decision-maker serves a different function within the directive.

A living will is often discussed in connection with written treatment preferences. When considering any document, focus on whether it expresses what you intend to communicate and whether the people likely to consult it can understand its purpose. For questions about particular treatments or what is medically appropriate, speak with a health-care professional.

Keep health-care instructions separate from financial authority

An advance health care directive is not the same as a financial power of attorney. The directive concerns health-care wishes and health-care decisions; a financial power of attorney serves a different financial role. Do not assume that addressing one kind of decision gives someone authority over the other.

Before discussing your planning, ask yourself which concern you are trying to address. If you want to record treatment preferences, consider what you want those instructions to convey. If you are also concerned about financial decisions, identify that as a separate planning question. Keeping the roles distinct can make a family conversation more focused without presuming that one document answers every question.

Make a plan for people to locate the document

Preparing a directive and keeping it accessible are different from registering information about an executed directive. Consider who may need to consult the document and how those people would know where to look. You can discuss who should be told about its location and what practical steps would make it easier for the relevant people to find.

The California Secretary of State offers an Advance Health Care Directive Registry. Registry information is distinct from preparing and keeping the document accessible. Consider whether registry information would be useful in your circumstances, while also thinking through how the people you expect to consult the document can locate it.

Prepare for a focused planning conversation

Before a planning discussion, write down the questions you want to resolve: What preferences do you want to communicate? Do you also want to identify someone to make health-care decisions? Who should know where the document is kept? Are you separately trying to arrange authority over financial matters? These questions help distinguish the directive’s possible functions from the separate role of financial planning documents.

Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. has one physical office in Novato and provides virtual services throughout California, including to Eldridge residents. Eldridge is an unincorporated community in Sonoma County; the firm’s service to the area is not a claim of a local office. A planning conversation can help you identify the questions you want addressed. Medical decisions and treatment questions should be discussed with an appropriate health-care professional.

Questions to discuss

Does an advance health care directive give someone authority over my finances?

An advance health care directive can express health-care wishes and identify someone to make health-care decisions. A financial power of attorney serves a different financial role, so do not assume that health-care instructions establish financial authority.

Is keeping a directive accessible the same as registering it?

No. Preparing and keeping the document accessible is distinct from registering information about an executed directive. Consider both whether the people who may need the document can find it and whether registry information would be useful for your circumstances.

Official resources

General information, not an assessment of your documents or circumstances. Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. has one office at 802 Grant Ave, Novato, CA 94945, and offers virtual services across California. A remote consultation does not itself authorize remote signing or a remote court appearance.