Advance Health Care Directives and Living Wills in Banning

Separate written preferences from decision-making

A directive can combine two different functions: recording your health-care wishes and naming someone to make health-care decisions. Written preferences tell others what matters to you; naming an agent identifies a person for decision-making. These are related, but one does not replace thinking carefully about the other.

This page focuses on the written-preference side of planning. Consider which wishes you want documented and how you want them explained, then consider separately whether your chosen person understands the role you want that person to fill. The directive is a way to communicate health-care wishes, not a financial-planning document.

• Written instructions: the preferences you want conveyed about your health care.
• Named decision-maker: the person identified to make health-care decisions.
• Financial authority: a separate role addressed by a financial power of attorney.

Make preferences understandable and usable

A useful starting point is to think about what you want others to understand about your health-care wishes, rather than relying on a document title alone. Consider whether your preferences are clear enough to communicate to the people who may need to refer to them. If a preference is difficult to express, note the question you want to discuss before settling on wording.

Preparation can also include identifying the people who should know where the directive is kept. Keeping relevant documents accessible is a practical part of planning; a document that cannot be found may be harder for others to consult when needed. This is a planning consideration, not a substitute for deciding what the document should say.

• Write down the preferences or questions you want to address.
• Consider who should know where the document is kept.
• Keep the directive distinct from financial documents so its purpose is clear.

Match each responsibility to the right authority

The person named in an advance health care directive is identified to make health-care decisions. The directive can also express your health-care wishes. Those functions should be considered together, but they are not the same: written preferences communicate what you want, while the named person has the decision-making role described by the directive.

A financial power of attorney serves a different financial role. Naming someone in a health-care directive does not, by itself, make that person responsible for financial matters. If you want to plan for both health-care decisions and financial matters, treat them as separate planning questions and clarify which document addresses each responsibility.

• Ask what decisions the health-care directive is intended to address.
• Ask separately who, if anyone, should have financial authority.
• Do not assume a health-care designation provides financial authority.

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 step as creating the document or ensuring that people who may need it can locate it. Consider both where the document will be kept and whether relevant people know how to find it.

A practical next step is to bring your questions about written preferences, the named decision-maker’s role, and document access to a planning discussion. Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. serves clients virtually throughout California from its Novato office. The focus can be on clarifying the document’s purpose and how it fits with your separate financial planning.