Advance Health Care Directives and Living Wills for Highland Residents

Separate your preferences from the decision-maker’s role

Consider two questions separately: What health-care wishes do you want documented, and whom do you want to make health-care decisions? An advance health care directive can address both. Writing down preferences gives the document a way to communicate your wishes; naming someone identifies a person to make decisions. Choosing an agent is not the same as expressing treatment preferences, and neither should be mistaken for a financial power of attorney.

As you plan, consider what you want the document to communicate and whether the person you are considering understands the responsibility you intend to give them. These are planning questions, not a substitute for medical advice. The focus here is on organizing your health-care instructions and the decision-making role you want to assign.

• Written instructions: What health-care wishes do you want recorded?
• Decision-making: Who should be identified to make health-care decisions?
• Financial authority: Do not assume a health-care directive assigns authority over finances.

Understand what each responsibility covers

The person identified in an advance health care directive may make health-care decisions. The directive can also express your health-care wishes. These functions work together, but the named person’s role is not interchangeable with your written preferences: instructions tell others what you want, while the person named has a decision-making role.

Financial decisions are a separate matter. A financial power of attorney serves a different financial role; a health-care directive should not be treated as authority to handle financial affairs. If you are planning for both health-care and financial responsibilities, discuss them as separate documents and clarify what each is intended to address.

Prepare the information you want the directive to convey

Before discussing a directive, make a private list of the health-care preferences you want to communicate and the questions you would like answered about recording them. You may also note who you are considering for the decision-making role and what you want that person to understand. This preparation can help keep your written preferences distinct from the choice of decision-maker.

Think about how the document will be accessible to people who may need it. Preparing and keeping relevant documents accessible is distinct from registering information about an executed directive. Registration is not a replacement for having the document available. Consider where you intend to keep it and how the people who may need it would know how to find it.

• Write down the preferences and questions you want to discuss.
• Keep the document where it can be found and consider who should know its location.
• Treat any registration of information as a separate step from preparing and keeping the document accessible.

Keep health-care planning distinct from financial planning

A common planning gap is assuming that one document gives a trusted person authority across every area. An advance health care directive concerns health-care wishes and health-care decisions. A financial power of attorney has a different financial role. If you want someone to address both kinds of matters, identify each responsibility separately rather than relying on the title of one document to imply authority over the other.

The practical consequence is that your chosen health-care decision-maker should not be assumed to have financial authority merely because they are named in a health-care directive. Clarifying which document addresses which responsibility can help you explain your plan and identify questions that still need attention.

Discuss your plan with Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C.

If you are in Highland, you can discuss your advance health care directive planning with Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. through the firm’s virtual statewide services. The firm’s in-person office is in Novato. A useful next step is to bring your written planning questions and explain whether you want to focus on health-care preferences, the decision-making role, or the distinction between health-care and financial authority.