Advance Health Care Directives and Living Wills in Oakdale, California

Separate your written wishes from choosing a decision-maker

A directive can serve two purposes: express your health-care wishes and identify someone to make health-care decisions. You may want to consider both, but they answer different questions. Written instructions communicate preferences; naming someone identifies a person who may be called on to decide. Neither purpose should be mistaken for the other.

A useful starting point is to think about what you want the document to communicate, then separately consider who you would trust to act as the decision-maker. The person’s name alone does not communicate your preferences, and written preferences alone do not identify a person to make decisions. The directive brings these functions together, but it is helpful to think through them individually.

• What preferences do you want recorded so others can refer to them?
• Who would you want identified to make health-care decisions?
• How will the people who may need the document know where to find it?

Understand the named person’s role—and its boundary

The person identified in an advance health care directive is connected to health-care decisions. The directive may also express your wishes, giving the person and others a written record of your preferences. The available information does not define the full scope of a named person’s authority in every circumstance, so do not assume that the document answers every question about what that person may do.

A health-care decision-making role is also different from a financial role. A financial power of attorney serves a different purpose: it concerns financial matters rather than health-care decisions. If you are considering who should handle both kinds of responsibilities, treat them as separate planning choices and discuss the authority needed for each rather than assuming that naming someone for health-care decisions also authorizes that person to manage finances.

• Discuss the health-care responsibilities you expect the named person may be asked to take on.
• Separately identify any financial responsibilities that need their own planning document or authority.
• If the intended scope of a person’s role is unclear, raise that question before relying on assumptions.

Make the document useful to the people who may need it

Preparing a directive and keeping it accessible are practical parts of making your wishes and chosen decision-maker known. A document that cannot readily be found may be less useful to the people looking for your instructions. Consider where you will keep it and how the people you identify, or others who may need it, can learn where it is.

Registration is a separate matter from preparing and keeping the document accessible. Information about an executed directive may be registered, but registering information does not replace the document itself or the practical step of making it available to people who may need it. Think of document preparation, access, and registration as distinct considerations rather than interchangeable tasks.

• Choose a place where the directive can be located when needed.
• Tell relevant people where it is kept.
• Consider separately whether registering information about an executed directive is appropriate for your situation.

Prepare for a focused planning discussion

Before discussing a directive, write down the preferences you want reflected and the questions you have about the person you may name. You can also note who should know where the document is kept. These preparation steps help distinguish the content you want recorded from the decision-making role you want someone to have.

Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. can discuss advance health care directives and living wills through virtual services across California. The firm’s in-person office is in Novato. A practical next step is to organize your preferences, your questions about the named person’s role, and your plan for making the document accessible, then discuss how those pieces fit together.