What Should Be Included in an Advance Directive for Comprehensive Care?
Planning for the future involves making important decisions, especially about healthcare. An advance directive is a legal document that allows you to state your wishes for medical treatment. It gives you a voice when you can no longer speak for yourself. It eases the burden on your loved ones, who might otherwise face difficult choices without knowing your desires.
A well-prepared advance directive gives peace of mind, knowing your personal values will be honored. An estate planning attorney helps make sure your instructions are clear, legally sound, and comprehensive, leaving no room for doubt about your end-of-life care preferences.
The Elder & Disability Law Firm, APC provides dedicated assistance to individuals and families throughout the estate planning process. Their experienced attorney, Esther C. Wang, can help you create a comprehensive estate plan that includes an advance directive, as well as other vital documents such as a will, trust, and power of attorney. Located in Redlands, California, the firm serves communities in Southern California, including Riverside, Rancho Cucamonga, and Palm Springs.
Understanding the Core Components of an Advance Directive
An advance directive is not a single document but a set of instructions that can include a living will and a power of attorney for health care. Together, these elements form a complete plan for your future medical care.
The Living Will: Your Instructions for Medical Treatment
A living will is a written statement detailing the types of medical treatments you do or do not want to receive in certain situations. It comes into effect if you are terminally ill, in a persistent vegetative state, or otherwise unable to make your own medical decisions.
When creating a living will, consider including instructions on the following medical interventions:
Life-sustaining treatment: This includes procedures like mechanical ventilation (breathing machine), dialysis, and CPR. You can specify under what circumstances you would want these treatments to be used, withheld, or withdrawn. For example, you might want CPR if it could restore your heartbeat, but not if you have a terminal illness.
Tube feeding and hydration: You can decide whether you want to receive nutrition and fluids through a tube if you cannot eat or drink on your own. This is a personal decision based on your beliefs about quality of life.
Palliative and comfort care: This is care focused on relieving pain and suffering rather than prolonging life. You can state your desire to receive pain medication and other comfort-oriented care, even if it might hasten your death. This part of the directive confirms your wish to be kept comfortable and dignified.
Power of Attorney for Health Care: Appointing Your Agent
A durable power of attorney for health care allows you to name a person, often called a health care agent or proxy, to make medical decisions for you when you cannot. This person should be someone you trust completely to understand and follow your wishes.
Your agent’s responsibilities include:
Communicating with doctors: Your agent will talk with your medical team to understand your diagnosis, prognosis, and available treatment options.
Making decisions: Based on the instructions in your living will and their conversations with you, your agent will make choices about your care.
Advocating for your wishes: If there are disagreements among family members or with medical staff, your agent is empowered to advocate on your behalf to see that your directives are followed.
It is wise to name an alternate agent in case your primary choice is unable or unwilling to serve. Discuss your wishes in detail with your chosen agent to prepare them to act for you.
Specific Scenarios to Address in Your Directive
To make your advance directive as effective as possible, think about specific health scenarios and how you would want them handled. While you cannot predict every possibility, considering a few common situations can provide more precise guidance for your agent and medical team.
Terminal Condition
A terminal condition is an incurable illness that will result in death in a relatively short time. In your directive, you can state whether you want life-prolonging treatments in this situation. Many people choose to focus on comfort care to manage symptoms and maintain dignity.
Permanent Unconsciousness
This includes conditions like a persistent vegetative state or an irreversible coma, where you are unaware of your surroundings and have no reasonable hope of recovery. You should specify whether you would want life-sustaining treatments, such as a ventilator or feeding tube, to be continued indefinitely in this state.
Progressive Illness
For individuals with a diagnosis like Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia, an advance directive is particularly important. You can outline your wishes for care at different stages of the illness. For instance, you might want all available treatments in the early stages but prefer to decline certain interventions as the disease progresses and your quality of life diminishes.
California Laws Governing Advance Directives
In California, advance health care directives are governed by the Probate Code. The state provides a statutory form that residents can use, called the Advance Health Care Directive Form. While using this form is not required, any directive you create must meet certain legal standards to be valid.
Under California law, your directive must be either signed by two qualified witnesses or notarized. Witnesses cannot be your health care agent, your health care provider, or an employee of the facility where you are receiving care. At least one witness cannot be related to you by blood, marriage, or adoption, or be entitled to any part of your estate.
California law also allows you to include personal instructions beyond standard medical treatments. You can specify wishes regarding organ donation, the disposition of your remains, and even visitation preferences. The law gives your appointed agent broad authority to make decisions, so it is important to select someone who understands and respects your values. The law also protects health care providers who follow your directive in good faith.
Estate Planning Attorney Serving Redlands, California
If done right, an advance directive can help ease your worries and fears about long-term healthcare and about how your assets are handled after you die. The Elder & Disability Law Firm, APC, is a hands-on firm that guides clients through every step of the estate planning process, including setting up a foolproof advance directive.
Located in Redlands, California, the firm serves all of Southern California, including Riverside, Rancho Cucamonga, and Palm Springs. Call today to schedule a consultation and achieve peace of mind.