If you live in California and are preparing for the future and the end of your life, estate planning can be highly beneficial. An advanced directive is one element in this process that can help ensure you are taken care of as you wish. Having one is the best way to outline how healthcare decisions are made on your behalf.
Should you create an advance directive?
An advance directive, or living will, can be used to make healthcare decisions for you when you’re unable to do so. This legal document ensures you receive the medical treatments you choose when you’re too hurt or ill to express your wishes. If you become unconscious or get close to dying, it explains your wishes to healthcare professionals, friends and family. In it, you might want to include instructions on the following:
- Tissue or organ donation
- Tube feeding
- If you want to be resuscitated when your heart or breathing stops
- If you want to be put on a breathing machine or use dialysis
Benefits of having an advance directive
Having an advance directive is essential if you want peace of mind. It’s best to set one up when estate planning and can make it less complicated to care for you at the end of your life. If an unexpected medical situation occurs, an advance directive lets your doctors understand your healthcare desires and can comfort your family and loved ones.
Creating an advance directive
To create an advance directive, you can fill out an official form or a simpler version that you find on the internet. In it, you name your healthcare proxy, who will make healthcare decisions on your behalf when you can’t.
Using an advance directive is crucial if you want the healthcare decisions you choose to be made on your behalf near the end of your life. It’s best to start early and have it available, as you never know when an illness or life-threatening situation will occur.