In California, you can use an advance health care directive if you want to spell out your wishes for future medical care. This is a common part of estate planning, especially as people grow older.
Your advance health care directive can focus on certain types of treatment that you do or do not want. This could include things like surgical procedures, resuscitation and CPR or the use of life support. Perhaps you do not want to be resuscitated or kept on life support, regardless of your condition. By giving these directions to the medical team through your estate plan, you ensure that your wishes will be followed and that family members do not have to make these decisions for you.
A medical power of attorney
But there is another way to address this, which is by using a medical power of attorney. This is also an estate planning document, but it names an agent to make decisions for you. You are not required to list specific preferences, but just to select the person who can make these decisions on your behalf.
This means it is very important that you trust the person you choose with the power of attorney. It can be helpful to use an agent who can consult with your doctors at the time, meaning you do not have to guess about your future treatment needs. But you need to be sure that this person will actually make the decisions you would have made for yourself and that they will act in your best interests while you are incapacitated.
Drafting your estate plan
This helps to show how medical documentation can be an important part of your estate plan. Be sure you know what legal steps to take if you are drafting a plan this year.
