Crafting Comprehensive Health Care Directives to Ensure Your Wishes Are Honored

Making Decisions for When You Can’t Make Decisions

Most people understand the importance of having a will in place – even if they (inaccurately) believe they cannot afford one. Far fewer individuals understand how critical incapacity planning is for their future. If a time comes when you can’t make decisions for yourself, crafting comprehensive health care directives can ensure your wishes are honored.

Unfortunately, this isn’t as simple as saying, “I want this person to make decisions for me” or “I don’t want machines keeping me alive.” Healthcare decisions are complex, and two individuals in seemingly similar situations could have very different outcomes. This is why you should take health care directive planning seriously by utilizing the following strategies.

Understand the Components of a Health Care Directive

Unlike a will, health care directives are typically not single documents that cover all potential outcomes. Instead, a comprehensive directive includes a variety of legal documents and agreements. Overlooking even one of these can result in “blind spots” when it comes to planning for your future medical care in the event of incapacitation: 

• Living will: Outlines your preferences for medical treatments, such as life support, resuscitation, or artificial nutrition and hydration 
• Medical Power of Attorney (POA): Names a trusted individual who can make healthcare decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated 
• HIPAA release: Grants access to your medical information for designated individuals 
• Do not resuscitate (DNR) order: Optional document that indicates whether you want CPR if your heart stops

Clearly, these components of a comprehensive health care directive cover a variety of potential situations. Some of these can be more important than others based on your wishes, and some may be unwarranted entirely. For instance, a DNR is not necessary if you want life-saving CPR in the event of an emergency. 

Simply put, your directive has many different aspects – and you should consider all of them to ensure you’re making your wishes known. 

Clarify Your Medical Preferences

The underlying goal of a comprehensive health care directive is to ensure your medical preferences are known and respected. Due to the complexity of medical conditions, this means planning for a multitude of situations. For instance, what if you can breathe on your own but cannot wake up? What if you can’t breathe on your own, but your heart is beating? 

These scenarios barely breach the surface of medical possibilities. That’s why you should clarify your wishes regarding the following medical issues: 

• Life-sustaining treatments: Do you want mechanical ventilation, dialysis, feeding tubes, or other support care 
• End-of-life care: What are your preferences for comfort measures, hospice care, or palliative care 
• Pain management: How aggressive would you like pain treatment to be 
• Organ and tissue donation: Do you want to donate organs or tissues if you pass 
• Religious or cultural preferences: Include any practices that are important to your care decisions

These are the most important decisions you’ll make when crafting a comprehensive health care directive to ensure your wishes are honored. Such advanced care planning will help you maintain control over your life and well-being while removing some of the burdens faced by loved ones. If for no other reason, this is why such directives are critical for estate planning. 

Choose a Trustworthy Health Care Agent

When you create a health care directive, it’s not just a list of your wishes. You also need to include someone who can make your wishes known and who will advocate for your decisions. This person may be referred to as a healthcare agent, surrogate, proxy, representative, or attorney-in-fact. Regardless of the terminology, there are certain traits you should look for:

• Trusted individuals (e.g., close family member, friend) 
• Someone who shares your beliefs and values 
• Strong-willed and assertive individuals 
• An individual willing to put in the time and energy

In addition to choosing a health care agent, you should also select a backup agent in case your primary agent is unavailable. Crafting a comprehensive health care directive to ensure your wishes are honored involves more than just selecting an agent. You also need to discuss your preferences with them in advance so they can faithfully carry out your wishes. 

Make It Legally-Binding and Accessible

Like all other estate planning strategies, specific legal requirements must be met when crafting a health care directive. Every jurisdiction has different laws, so you need to understand the rules in your state. In many cases, you’ll need to sign your documents in the presence of a witness — perhaps even multiple witnesses or a notary in some jurisdictions.

You’ll also want to ensure that your directive is easily accessible to those who need access. Do this by providing copies to your health care agent, physician, and close family members. You should also store a copy in a secure but accessible location (e.g., a digital vault) and consider carrying a wallet card that contains key information.

Finally, revisit your documents every 3-5 years or when a significant life change occurs.

Work With an Estate Planning Attorney

Estate planning attorneys handle more than just wills and trusts. These professionals assist with just about anything regarding making plans for the future – ranging from financial to medical. Don’t make the mistake of using do-it-yourself online services. These DIY legal websites cannot account for your unique circumstances and frequently don’t include updated legal information.

In fact, most legal professionals warn against using these services – particularly for matters as important as health care directives and other forms of estate planning. Many law firms offer these services for a flat fee, so you won’t have to worry about hourly charges stacking up. This can grant you peace of mind and certainty that your wishes will be honored.

At Cava & Faulkner, our dedicated legal team can help you craft a comprehensive health care directive that is valid under the law. Contact us at 916-831-7565 to schedule your free consultation.