- What is an Advance Health Care Directive?
- An Advance Health Care Directive is a document that nominates someone else to make health care decisions for you when you can no longer do it for yourself. This person is called your health care Agent. An Advance Health Care Directive gives that person instructions for making those decisions. In an Advance Health Care Directive, you can nominate a primary physician, state a preference for burial or cremation, give your Agent the authority to remove or reject life support, authorize who can have access to your private health care records, regulate who may visit you in a hospital and nominate a conservator for you.
- What is the difference between an Advance Health Care Directive and a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care?
- A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care allows you to name someone else to make health care decisions for you when you can no longer make or communicate those decisions (a health care Agent). A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care does not do much more.
- An Advance Health Care Directive does what a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care does and much more.
- California law allows you to consolidate into one document your nomination of health care Agent, instructions for your health care Agent, choice of a primary physician, choice of a conservator, end of life decisions, and that document is called an Advance Health Care Directive.
- When California law changed to allow you to consolidate all of these provisions into one document, people stopped writing Durable Powers of Attorney for Health Care and started writing Advance Health Care Directives instead.
- How do I choose a health care Agent?
- You should choose a health care Agent who knows and understands your wishes about your health care. You do not need to choose someone who agrees with you, but you should choose someone who will honor your wishes.
- It is helpful, but not necessary, to choose someone who lives close to you so that your Agent can visit you and monitor your care.
- What authority am I giving to my Agent when I sign this Advance Health Care Directive?
- This questionnaire automatically gives your Agent the following powers after you lose the capacity to make health care decisions:
- To select your health care provider and to discharge you from a health care provider.
- To consent, refuse consent or to withdraw consent for medical procedures.
- To approve diagnostic tests and treatment.
- To consult with your treating physicians.
- To disclose your medical information if your Agent felt it was in your best interest.
- To receive your personal affects if you are hospitalized.
- To arrange for the care of your body after your death.
- To appoint a successor Agent if none of the ones you name are able to act.
- To sign health care documents on your behalf.
- To make personal care decisions for you.
- This questionnaire automatically gives your Agent the following powers after you lose the capacity to make health care decisions:
- Can I limit my Agent’s ability to make decisions for me?
- Yes. You can limit the decisions that your Agent can make for you.
- Do I have to choose a health care Agent?
- No. You do not have to choose a health care Agent. You can give instructions for your health care to your health care providers without choosing a health care Agent. However, choosing an Agent gives you an advocate for your wishes and someone to monitor your care.
- Can I choose more than one Agent?
- Yes, and we recommend that you choose several people to be your Agents in case your first choice is not available.
- You can choose your Agents to be Co-Agents (to act together at the same time) or to act one after the other.
- Can I name Co-Agents?
- Yes, you can choose more than one person to be health care Agents for you at the same time. However, problems may arise if they disagree on your health care.
- When are Agents authorized to act?
- Health care Agents can make decisions for you only if you do not have the capacity to make those decisions for yourself or if you cannot communicate those decisions to your health care providers. This means that if you name someone to be your health care Agent, you get to decide your health care as long as you are physically able to.
- While it is better to revoke your Advance Health Care Directive in writing, if you cannot do it in writing, you can revoke it by telling your primary physician that you want to revoke it. So if you change your mind, you can change your choice of Agent without writing it down as long as you tell your attending physician.
- What is the difference between an Advance Health Care Directive and a Living Will?
- In a Living Will, you give instructions for end of life decisions. In an Advance Health Care Directive, you can give those instructions as well as nominate a health care Agent, give instructions to your Agent, choose a primary physician and more.
- Why don't you offer a Living Will?
- California Trusts Online does not offer Living Wills as a separate document. All of the information that you would include in a Living Will is included in the Advance Health Care Directive.
- What if I have religious beliefs that affect my choice of health care?
- If your religious beliefs affect your choice of health care, you probably need an Advance Health Care Directive more than others. It is important to state your religious affiliation in your Advance Health Care Directive and how it affects your choices. California Trusts Online has options for Catholic, Christian Science, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Orthodox Jewish customers. If your religious beliefs affect your health care and your religion is not represented in our database, please contact us at contact@californiatrustsonline.com for help. We would love to expand the choices we can offer our customers.
- Someone is making me sign this Advance Health Care Directive. What should I do?
- If anyone is pressuring you to make this Advance Health Care Directive and you do not feel comfortable signing it, you should call the Eldercare Locator at 800-677-1116 or 911.