Advance Health Care Directives in Big Bend, Shasta County

Separate your treatment preferences from the choice of decision-maker

A directive can combine two important ideas without making them interchangeable. Written health care wishes explain preferences about care; identifying a person to make health care decisions assigns a decision-making role. This page focuses on the written-preferences question. Choosing an appropriate health care agent is a separate decision that should be considered on its own.

A financial power of attorney has a different purpose: it concerns financial decisions, not health care decisions. A document intended to address one role should not be assumed to cover the other. When reviewing your planning, identify which questions concern treatment preferences, which concern a health care decision-maker, and which concern finances.

• Ask what you want written instructions to communicate about health care.
• Separately consider whether you want to identify someone to make health care decisions.
• Keep financial authority distinct from health care authority.

Consider what written instructions can—and cannot—do

Written preferences give others information about the health care you want. They do not, by themselves, answer every question that may arise in a particular medical situation. The directive’s role is to express your wishes and, if you choose, identify a decision-maker; it is not a substitute for medical advice or a guarantee about a particular treatment or outcome.

Before preparing a document, think about the preferences you want it to communicate and whether you also want a named person to make decisions. These are useful questions to discuss when planning, not legal or medical conclusions about what treatment you should choose. A professional discussion can help clarify the document’s intended role and how it fits with your other planning documents.

Plan for access as well as preparation

Preparing a directive and making information about an executed directive available are different steps. California’s resources distinguish the document itself, which should be kept accessible to relevant people, from registering information about an executed directive. Registration information is not a replacement for making the document available when it may be needed.

As a practical preparation step, consider who may need to locate the directive and how they would know where it is kept. You can also ask whether registration is useful for your circumstances and what information that process records. Do not assume that registration alone ensures a person has the document or understands your wishes.

• Identify the people who may need access to your directive.
• Consider how those people would learn where the document is kept.
• Discuss the difference between the document and registration information before deciding what steps to take.

A practical way to prepare for a planning conversation

Start by writing down, in your own words, the health care preferences you want a document to communicate. Note any questions about how to express those preferences, whether to identify a health care decision-maker, and how to make the document accessible. Keep financial-planning questions on a separate list so the different roles are not blurred.

Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. serves clients virtually throughout California and has one physical office in Novato. The firm’s service coverage does not mean it has a Big Bend office. You can ask about the available planning process, the difference between written wishes and agent selection, and how document access and registration fit into your goals. General information cannot determine which medical choices or document provisions are right for you.