Advance Health Care Directives in Davenport, Santa Cruz County

Start with the decision you want the document to support

Before changing anything, identify what feels incomplete or unclear. You may want to communicate treatment preferences, name a person to make health-care decisions, or check whether the documents you already have serve those separate purposes. An advance health care directive can express health-care wishes and identify someone to make health-care decisions; those are related functions, but not the same choice.

This page focuses on recording treatment preferences and making the relevant information available to people who may need it. Choosing a health-care agent is a separate planning question. If that is your main concern, evaluate the potential decision-maker separately rather than assuming that written treatment instructions answer it.

• Write down the health-care wishes you want your documents to communicate.
• Note whether you also need to review who may make health-care decisions.
• Keep financial authority separate from health-care planning; a financial power of attorney serves a different role.

Compare the documents you already have

Gather your current advance health care directive, any separate written treatment instructions, and any financial power of attorney. Compare their purpose, rather than treating every planning document as interchangeable. The central question for a health-care directive is whether it expresses the wishes you intend to communicate and identifies a decision-maker if that is part of your plan. A financial power of attorney addresses a different, financial role.

For example, if you have written down treatment preferences but are unsure whether your directive also identifies someone to make health-care decisions, that is a reason to review the document’s functions. This example is a general comparison, not a conclusion about any particular document or person’s circumstances.

• Mark which document addresses health-care wishes and which addresses financial matters.
• Identify preferences that you want to discuss or clarify.
• Avoid assuming that a document’s title alone tells you whether it covers every purpose you have in mind.

Plan how the information will be found

Preparing a document and keeping relevant documents accessible are separate from registering information about an executed advance health care directive. Consider who may need to know where your health-care planning information is kept, and how those people could locate it when appropriate. This is a practical planning question, not a claim that any particular storage method or registration choice is required.

When reviewing registry information, distinguish the act of registering information about an executed directive from preparing the directive itself and keeping documents accessible. A registry entry does not replace the need to consider what your written instructions say or how relevant people will find your documents.

• Make a list of the people who may need to locate your health-care planning information.
• Decide what access or location information you want to communicate to them.
• Compare document preparation, accessibility, and registry information as separate parts of your review.

Prepare for a focused review

A focused conversation can begin with your existing documents and a short list of questions: Do the written instructions reflect the preferences you want to communicate? Do you also want the directive to identify someone to make health-care decisions? Are the relevant documents accessible to the people who may need them? Is a financial power of attorney being mistaken for a health-care document?

Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. serves clients virtually throughout California from its single physical office at 802 Grant Ave, Novato, CA 94945. Davenport is an unincorporated community; service to residents there does not mean the firm maintains a Davenport office. For general legal information about reviewing California planning documents, contact the firm to discuss what you have and what you want your documents to accomplish.