Advance Health Care Directives and Living Wills for Windsor Residents

Put treatment preferences and decision-making roles in view

A useful starting point is to separate two related questions: what health-care wishes do you want expressed, and who should be identified to make health-care decisions? An advance health care directive can address both. Giving each question attention can help you see whether your written preferences and the decision-making role are both clear to the people who may need to consult the document.

This page focuses on documenting preferences and making the document accessible, while recognizing that choosing a health-care decision-maker is also part of directive planning. A decision about one does not automatically settle the other. For example, a person may have a view about the care they want communicated and separately need to consider whom to identify to make decisions. That is an illustration of the two questions, not a recommendation about what any individual should choose.

• What health-care wishes do you want the document to express?
• Who may need to find or refer to those wishes?
• What questions do you still have about identifying someone to make health-care decisions?

Keep health-care planning distinct from financial authority

A financial power of attorney serves a different role from an advance health care directive: it concerns financial matters rather than the health-care wishes and decisions addressed by a directive. When sorting through planning papers, consider the purpose of each document instead of assuming that one document covers every kind of decision.

This distinction matters in practice because a financial document is not a substitute for a document expressing health-care wishes. If you already have planning papers, you may find it helpful to identify which ones address health care and which address finances. If something is unclear, make a note of the question rather than treating a document’s presence in a planning folder as evidence that it addresses both subjects.

• List health-care documents separately from financial-authority documents.
• Note any uncertainty about what a document is intended to address.
• Consider both written preferences and the decision-making role when reviewing a directive.

Plan for people to locate the document

Preparing and keeping the relevant documents accessible is distinct from registering information about an executed directive. Registration information and the document itself are not the same thing. For practical planning, consider whether the people who may need to consult your wishes will know how to locate the actual document.

As optional preparation, you could choose a place to keep the directive, make a simple note of its location, and tell appropriate people how to find it. You might also keep an inventory of related papers and distinguish any registry information from the directive itself. These are organizational suggestions, not legal requirements. If the document cannot be found, its written preferences may be harder for others to consult when needed.

• Decide where the document will be kept and how its location will be communicated.
• Make an optional inventory of relevant papers and their locations.
• If you register information about a directive, keep the distinction between that information and the document in mind.

Prepare for a focused planning conversation

Before relying on a document, consider whether it still expresses the preferences you intend to communicate and whether the people who may need it can find it. If either point is uncertain, identify what needs clarification. A change in your preferences or in where the document is kept may be a reason to revisit those practical questions.

For a conversation about advance health care directives and living wills, you may bring any relevant papers you already have, note where they are stored, and write down your questions. Useful topics include what the document is meant to communicate, how your written preferences relate to identifying a decision-maker, and how the people who may need the document can locate it. Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. serves Windsor residents through virtual services or at its Novato office. A clear list of questions can help make the next discussion more useful.