Advance Health Care Directives and Living Wills for Hayward Residents

Start with the purpose of the document

An advance health care directive can set out your health-care wishes and identify someone to make health-care decisions. Those are related but distinct functions: written instructions communicate what matters to you, while naming a decision-maker identifies a person who may be called on to decide. Consider which function you want the document to serve, and whether both are important to you.

This is a health-care planning document, not a financial power of attorney. A financial power of attorney has a different role: it concerns financial decisions rather than health-care decisions. Keeping those purposes separate can help family members understand which document to look for when a question arises.

Clarify your preferences before relying on written instructions

Before putting preferences into writing, consider what you want the document to communicate and which people may need to refer to it. You might reflect on the kinds of care-related choices that matter to you, how you want your preferences conveyed, and whether the people close to you understand where your instructions will be kept. These are preparation questions, not medical recommendations.

If you are also considering whom to identify as a health-care decision-maker, keep that choice distinct from the content of your written instructions. You can think separately about what you want communicated and who you want identified to make decisions. This page focuses on expressing and making instructions available, rather than on how to choose an agent.

• Write down the preferences you want to discuss and any points you are unsure how to express.
• List the people who may need to know that a directive exists and how they could find it.
• Note whether you are also reviewing financial documents, so health-care and financial roles are not confused.

Make accessibility part of the plan

Preparing a directive and keeping the relevant documents accessible are separate practical tasks. A document may express your wishes, but people cannot readily refer to it if they do not know where it is. Think through a simple way to keep the document available and to let relevant people know how to locate it.

California also provides an advance health care directive registry. Registry information concerns an executed directive; registering information is distinct from preparing the document and keeping the relevant documents accessible. Do not treat registry information as a substitute for considering how the people who may need the directive will find it.

Check what each document is meant to do

When reviewing your planning materials, ask whether a document is meant to express health-care wishes, identify someone to make health-care decisions, or address financial decisions. An advance health care directive can address the first two; a financial power of attorney serves a different financial role. This distinction can help prevent a family from relying on the wrong document for the question at hand.

If you are reviewing beneficiary arrangements alongside health-care instructions, treat them as separate planning questions. The directive’s described purpose is health-care wishes and decision-making, not financial decision-making. A family should clarify which document or arrangement they are discussing rather than assume one answers questions that belong to another.

Prepare for a planning conversation

Before a conversation with the firm, gather the health-care planning documents you already have, note where they are kept, and write down the preferences or practical questions you want to address. You can also identify who should know how to find the relevant documents. This preparation helps focus the discussion on the document’s purpose and accessibility without assuming that a particular form or arrangement fits every person.

For Hayward residents, Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. provides virtual services throughout California from its Novato-based practice. A next step is to discuss what you want your written instructions to communicate and how you want them kept available to the people who may need them.