Choose a Health-Care Agent in Palos Verdes Estates

Start with the decision maker, not the paperwork

A health-care directive can designate an agent for health-care decisions. The practical question is who could handle that responsibility in a way that reflects your wishes. Consider whether a prospective agent listens carefully, can communicate clearly with the people involved in your care, and is willing to make decisions in a difficult situation.

Discuss the role before naming someone. Ask whether the person is comfortable speaking up, gathering information, and explaining your priorities to others. You might also consider how well the person understands your values and whether you trust them to keep those values in view if circumstances are stressful. These are questions to help you assess fit, not legal qualifications or guarantees about how a person will act.

• Who would be able to focus on your wishes rather than substitute their own preferences?
• Would the person be willing and able to communicate with your health-care providers and the people close to you?
• Is there someone else you would want to identify as an alternate if your first choice could not serve?

Think through alternates and communication

An alternate can be part of your planning for the possibility that your preferred person is unavailable or unable to take on the role. Before naming one, consider whether that person understands your priorities and could approach decisions consistently with them. Talk with each person you are considering so that the appointment is not a surprise and expectations are clear.

It can help to discuss how you want your agent to communicate with family or other people important to you. For example, consider whether you want the agent to explain your priorities to them, and how you would want disagreements handled. These conversations can clarify your expectations, but they do not by themselves resolve every disagreement or replace the need to identify the person whose decisions you are authorizing.

Separate authority from treatment preferences

Naming an agent and recording your own treatment preferences address different parts of planning. The directive can designate an agent to make health-care decisions; your written preferences can communicate what matters to you about treatment. Think about both questions: who should speak for you, and what would you want that person to understand about your wishes?

Before discussing a document, note the values and concerns you want your agent to understand. You can also list questions about how your preferences and the agent’s role fit together. This preparation helps make the conversation more concrete without turning a discussion of treatment choices into medical advice.

• Write down topics you want to discuss with your prospective agent.
• Identify any treatment-related priorities or concerns you want to communicate.
• Keep questions about who may make health-care decisions separate from questions about who may handle finances.

Understand the limits and plan a next step

A health-care appointment is not the same as financial authority. California court self-help materials distinguish health-care authority from financial authority, so do not assume a person named for health-care decisions can also manage financial matters on that basis. Consider separately whether you have questions about financial decision-making.

Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. has one in-person office at 802 Grant Ave, Novato, California, and provides virtual services statewide, including for people in Palos Verdes Estates. A useful next step is to identify your preferred agent and alternate, write down what you want them to understand, and prepare questions about the scope of the appointment and how to keep it distinct from treatment preferences.