Reviewing Advance Health Care Directives and Treatment Preferences in Coronado

Begin with the question you want the document to answer

When you look over an advance health care directive, separate two functions: expressing health-care wishes and identifying someone to make health-care decisions. They may appear in the same document, but they are different matters to consider. This page focuses on the written preferences. If you also want to reconsider who is identified to make decisions, treat that as a separate question rather than assuming a review of the preferences answers it.

If you have a document called a living will, start by asking what it says and what you want to review. The document’s title alone may not answer whether it expresses the wishes you want documented or whether you also need to consider the person identified to make health-care decisions. Focus on the content and on the particular question you want to resolve.

Compare documents by their purpose

An advance health care directive addresses health-care wishes and health-care decision-making. A financial power of attorney serves a different financial role. Comparing the two can help you avoid treating a financial document as a substitute for instructions about health care, or treating a health-care document as an answer to a financial question.

A useful review separates three issues: whether your written health-care wishes still reflect what you want to communicate; whether you want to revisit the person identified to make health-care decisions; and whether a separate financial document is the one relevant to your concern. The right focus depends on what you want to change, if anything—not simply on which document is easiest to find.

For example, you might be comfortable with the person identified in a directive but want to review the written preferences. Or you might want to consider the decision-maker separately while leaving the written preferences for another discussion. These are ways to organize questions, not recommendations about what anyone should choose.

Prepare for a focused review

Before deciding what to update, gather the advance health care directive you currently have and any document you refer to as a living will. If you are unsure whether a separate paper relates to finances, include the financial power of attorney for comparison. Making a short list of questions can keep the discussion centered on the document and issue that matter to you.

You might note which written preferences you want to keep, which wording you want to ask about, and whether your question concerns the preferences, the person identified to make decisions, or a financial matter. These are optional preparation steps; they help distinguish the subjects without presuming that a change is needed.

Also consider whether the relevant documents are accessible to the people who may need them. Preparing and keeping documents accessible is different from registering information about an executed directive. Registration of information does not replace preparing the directive or making the document available.

Decide what you want to discuss before changing anything

A practical starting point is to identify the specific uncertainty: Are your written health-care wishes still the ones you want expressed? Is your question instead about the person identified to make health-care decisions? Or are you looking at a financial power of attorney and trying to determine its role? Keeping these questions separate helps make a review more purposeful and reduces the risk of focusing on the wrong document.

Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. has one in-person office in Novato and provides virtual services statewide, including in Coronado. You can begin by bringing the documents you want to compare and a brief list of the questions you hope to address.