Advance Health Care Directives in Ono, Shasta County

Separate written instructions from choosing an agent

A directive may state your health-care wishes, identify a person to make health-care decisions, or address both. Written instructions and the choice of a decision-maker are related but distinct planning choices. If your main question is whom to name, focus on the separate decision of selecting an agent; this page concerns the written-preference side and how it fits with a directive.

A financial power of attorney has a different role: it concerns financial decisions, not health-care decisions. Do not treat it as a substitute for written health-care preferences or for identifying someone to make health-care decisions.

Decide what you want the document to communicate

Before discussing a document, consider what you want written instructions to accomplish. You might want to communicate general wishes, address particular care situations, or make your preferences easier for others to locate and understand. These are planning questions, not medical recommendations; a lawyer cannot determine which treatment is right for you.

It can help to write down questions for your health-care professionals about the meaning of terms or the medical implications of options you are considering. You can then decide what preferences you want to express in the directive. This keeps the legal task—communicating your wishes—separate from the medical task of understanding treatment choices.

• Which preferences do you want recorded, and which questions should first be discussed with a health-care professional?
• Who should know that the document exists and where it is kept?
• Do you also need to identify someone to make health-care decisions, or are you concentrating on written instructions?

Plan for access, not just preparation

Preparing a directive and keeping it accessible are separate from registering information about an executed directive. The California Secretary of State offers an Advance Health Care Directive Registry; registry information is a separate step from preparing and keeping the relevant documents available. Consider who may need access and how they will know where to look.

A practical preparation step is to make a list of the people you want to tell about the document and the places where you might keep it. That is an organizational suggestion, not a legal requirement. Discuss any questions about registry options and document access before deciding what arrangement works for you.

Know what this planning service does not decide

A directive is not the same as a financial power of attorney, and planning written health-care preferences does not answer every question about who will make decisions. A directive can include both wishes and identification of a decision-maker, but the choices serve different purposes.

This service is not medical advice, and a discussion about wording cannot substitute for understanding a treatment choice with a qualified health-care professional. Nor should you assume that registering information is the same task as preparing and keeping the document accessible. If the central issue is selecting a health-care agent, ask specifically about that choice rather than treating written preferences as a replacement for it.

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

Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. has one physical office at 802 Grant Ave, Novato, California, and provides virtual services throughout California. For Ono residents, the firm can discuss whether your planning focus is expressing health-care wishes, identifying someone to make decisions, or coordinating both functions in a directive.

To prepare for a conversation, note the preferences you want to communicate, any medical questions you still need answered, and who should be able to find the document. You can also ask how document preparation and registry information differ. The firm can discuss the legal-planning questions; treatment choices remain yours to explore with your health-care professionals.