Advance Health Care Directives and Living Wills in Redlands

Start by separating treatment preferences from decision-making authority

An advance health care directive can do two related but distinct things: express your health-care wishes and identify someone to make health-care decisions. The written instructions and the choice of a decision-maker are not the same question. You may want to review each separately so a change to one does not obscure what you want the other to accomplish.

This page focuses on the written-preference question: what do you want recorded about your care, and how can the relevant document be available when needed? If your main uncertainty is whom to select as a health-care decision-maker, keep that as a separate discussion rather than treating the written instructions as a substitute for choosing an agent.

Compare the documents you already have

Before deciding what to change, gather any advance health care directive you have and compare it with any financial power of attorney. They address different roles: an advance health care directive concerns health-care wishes and decisions, while a financial power of attorney serves a financial role. A financial document should not be treated as a statement of treatment preferences.

Read the documents with a practical question in mind: does the health-care document still express what you want, and does it identify the person you intend to make health-care decisions? Keep the financial document separate in your review, even if both are part of your broader planning.

• Make a list of the health-care documents you currently have and where you keep them.
• Note any passages or choices you want to revisit, without assuming that a financial power of attorney covers health-care instructions.
• Bring the documents and your questions to a planning conversation so the discussion can focus on the changes you are considering.

Make written preferences useful to the people who may need them

Preparing a document and keeping it accessible are separate practical steps. Consider who may need to locate your health-care instructions and how they could find the relevant document. A document that cannot be located may be difficult for others to consult when they need to understand your stated preferences.

A useful preparation step is to tell the people you expect may need the document where you keep it, and to make sure the location information remains current. This is about access to the document; it does not decide what medical care is appropriate or replace a conversation about your preferences.

Understand the difference between keeping a document and registering information

California provides a registry for information about an executed advance health care directive. Preparing and keeping the relevant documents accessible is distinct from registering information about a directive that has been executed. Consider these as separate parts of your planning: the directive contains your health-care wishes and may identify a decision-maker, while registration concerns information about that document.

When reviewing what to change, first identify whether your concern is the content of your instructions, the person identified to make decisions, or whether information about an existing directive is registered. Clarifying the question helps keep a discussion about document content distinct from a discussion about access to information.

Choose a focused next step

If you are unsure whether your current instructions still reflect your wishes, collect the documents you have and write down the specific points you want to review. If your question instead concerns financial authority, keep that issue distinct from health-care preferences. A focused review can help you identify which document or question needs attention before you decide what to change.