Advance Health Care Directives and Living Wills for Palmdale Residents

Start with the instructions you want to communicate

A useful first step is to consider what you want written health-care instructions to say. Think about the preferences that matter to you and how you would explain them in clear, ordinary language. The purpose of this reflection is to help you identify what you want the document to communicate, not to make medical decisions for you.

Keep the written instructions in view as their own planning question. Choosing a person to identify for health-care decisions is a separate consideration. A directive can express wishes and identify someone to make decisions, but thinking carefully about one function does not answer every question about the other.

• What preferences do you want the document to communicate?
• Would someone reading the instructions understand what matters to you?
• What questions do you have about the role of the person you may identify?

Keep the named person’s role distinct from your written preferences

The person identified in an advance health care directive is identified to make health-care decisions. The written instructions, by contrast, express your health-care wishes. When considering the document, it can help to ask separately what you want to communicate and whom you want identified for decisions.

This page focuses on the written preferences and how they may be made available to people who could need them. Selecting the person is a connected but distinct planning decision. If you are unsure what you want your instructions to say, prepare questions about your priorities; if you are unsure whom to identify, consider that question on its own rather than treating it as a substitute for writing down your preferences.

Recognize when a question is about finances instead

An advance health care directive and a financial power of attorney serve different roles. The directive concerns health-care wishes and identifies someone to make health-care decisions; a financial power of attorney serves a financial role.

If the person you are considering identifying may also need to handle a financial matter, treat that as a separate question. Do not assume that identifying someone in a health-care directive gives that person financial authority. A focused planning conversation can help you distinguish the health-care decisions addressed by the directive from any financial task for which a different document may be relevant.

• List health-care preferences and questions separately from financial tasks.
• If a financial task is involved, note whether you have a financial power of attorney and ask how its role differs.

Plan for access as well as preparation

Consider who may need to know that your directive exists and how the relevant document could be accessed when needed. You can make a list of people to tell and questions about where the document should be kept. These are practical preparation ideas, not legal requirements.

Preparing and keeping relevant documents accessible are separate considerations from registering information about an executed directive. If you are considering registration, treat it as its own question alongside the practical issue of document access. Thinking about both can help you plan how the written instructions might be found by people who may need them.

Prepare for a focused planning conversation

Before speaking with the firm, you may find it useful to gather any existing advance health care directive and note the preferences you want to communicate. You can also write down questions about the person you may identify, who should know about the document, and how it may be accessed. If you have a financial power of attorney, list it separately so the different roles can be considered without confusing health-care and financial authority.

Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. provides virtual services statewide. A practical next step is to organize your preferences and questions for a discussion about the document’s purpose, the role of the person identified, and any separate financial planning issue. This keeps the conversation centered on what you want the written instructions to communicate and what responsibilities belong to each document.