WHAT IS AN ADVANCED HEALTHCARE DIRECTIVE? (video)

admin • December 30, 2024

Planning for the future is one of the greatest gifts you can give your loved ones. An advanced healthcare directive is a crucial tool that ensures your medical wishes are honored, even if you’re unable to communicate them.

In this video, we’ll explain what an advanced healthcare directive is and explore the benefits of advanced directives, from providing peace of mind to reducing stress for your family during difficult times.

Transcript:

” In California, we have a statutory form called an advanced healthcare directive, was created about 25 years ago. Prior to that, in order to name a person who could make healthcare decisions for a client in the case of they’re incapacitated, we used to create two different documents: a healthcare power of attorney and what we called a living will. All attorneys had their own forms for that. There were some commonalities among them, but it could create confusion because doctors and hospitals were being asked to interpret documents that were legal documents created by attorneys that they weren’t familiar with. Often, that could delay somebody’s care.

What California did was create an advanced healthcare directive, the Part 1 of which is a healthcare power of attorney that designates an agent or agents to make healthcare decisions in case somebody is incapacitated and then the Part 2, which essentially replaces the living will and allows that client to make their healthcare wishes known so that the agent has some guidance in making healthcare decisions for them. This is particularly in the case of what people think of end stages of life, whether somebody wants to be kept on life support basically as long as possible in case a cure for whatever they have is found or if they want their bodies to be allowed to pass away naturally and not be kept alive for an inordinate amount of time because that can be expensive and torturous for the families as well. The advance healthcare directive both allows a client to name somebody they trust to make healthcare decisions for them and also to give that person some guidance as to how they wish to have their treatment happen in case that person needs to make those decisions.”

Contact The Law Office of Andrew Fesler

An advanced healthcare directive is more than a document —it’s a way to take control of your healthcare decisions and protect your loved ones from uncertainty. If you’re ready to create your directive or have questions, visit the Law Office of Andrew Fesler today to learn how we can help you take the next step in securing your future.

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