Advance Health Care Directives and Living Wills for Calabasas Residents

Begin with the instructions you want to communicate

Before a remote consultation, consider what you want a written directive to communicate about your health care. The goal is to give the discussion a clear starting point: which preferences matter to you, what you want clarified, and how you hope those instructions will be available when they may be needed.

An advance health care directive can express health-care wishes. It can also identify someone to make health-care decisions. Those are related but distinct functions: this page focuses on treatment preferences and the written instructions, not on choosing or evaluating an agent.

• Write down the topics or preferences you want to discuss, using your own words.
• Note any questions about how to communicate your wishes in a written directive.
• Separate questions about treatment instructions from questions about who would make decisions.

Prepare for a focused remote consultation

A concise preparation list can make a remote conversation more useful without requiring you to resolve every question in advance. Gather any existing health-care directive or related planning documents you want to discuss, and note whether you can readily locate them. If you do not have a document, bring the preferences and questions you would like to address instead.

You may also want to write down the names of people who should know where your instructions are kept. This is a practical planning step, not a legal requirement. The important distinction is between preparing the directive itself and making its information accessible to people who may need it.

• Have an existing directive available if you want to discuss its contents.
• List the preferences or points of uncertainty you want to cover.
• Consider how relevant documents and information could be found when needed.

Keep health-care instructions separate from financial planning

A health-care directive addresses health-care wishes and may identify a decision-maker for health care. A financial power of attorney has a different role: it concerns financial decisions. One document should not be treated as a substitute for the other merely because both involve planning for a time when you may need assistance.

If your consultation raises questions about financial authority, note them as a separate topic. Keeping the purpose of each document clear helps you focus this discussion on the treatment preferences you want recorded and communicated.

Plan for access, not just preparation

Preparing a directive and keeping it accessible are distinct from registering information about an executed directive. Registration is not the same activity as creating instructions or ensuring that the people who may need them know how to find them.

As you prepare, think through where you would keep relevant documents and who should know how to locate them. You can bring those practical questions to the consultation along with your preferences. The aim is to consider both what your written instructions say and how they can be found; the document alone does not resolve access and communication questions.

Use the consultation to clarify your next steps

For a virtual consultation serving Calabasas, arrive with your existing document, if any, your written preferences, and a short list of questions. You do not need to settle every detail before discussing the document. A focused conversation can help identify what you want the written instructions to address and what remains unclear.

Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. serves clients virtually throughout California from its Novato office. Use the consultation to discuss your health-care instructions and practical questions about keeping them accessible.