What to know about the advance health directive form in California

One of the documents to draft when estate planning is an advance health directive form. This document allows you to provide health care instructions to be observed if you become incapacitated. This way, your family won’t need to spend time figuring out what you would want or disagree on what’s best for you.

Here is what to know about this form:

Give instructions about your own health care

An advance health care form allows you to give instructions about your health care. These include the treatments that can/can’t be administered and whether or not the provision of pain medications can be continued, even if they may worsen your condition. 

Besides the choice to or not to prolong life in different circumstances and instructions about relief from pain, you can use the form to: 

• Select or discharge health care providers and institutions 
• Approve or disapprove diagnostic tests, surgical procedures, and programs of medication 
• State your wishes regarding artificial nutrition and hydration and all other forms of health care, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation 
• Specify whether or not you want to donate your organs and tissues and which organs you wish to donate 
• If you wish to donate your organs, specify the purpose of your donation, which can be for transplant, research, therapy or education

Carefully review your instructions to confirm everything is as you wish. 

Name an agent

Another purpose of the form is to name an agent – someone who will follow all your instructions and make others that are in your best interest.

Name a primary physician

Use the form to designate a physician as your primary physician. You should also name an alternate one in case the first party can’t serve.

An advance health care directive form is a sensitive document. Consider legal guidance to ensure you fill it out accurately.