What types of medical decisions can I make in an Orange County advanced healthcare directive? If your end-of-life healthcare is a concern as you plan your estate, an Orange County advanced healthcare directive is a crucial tool that should be incorporated into the plan. The advanced directive is used to appoint someone who can make healthcare decisions on your behalf. This power is not effective unless you become incapacitated and are unable to make these decisions on your own. A properly drafted directive can outline your wishes for your healthcare, and your agent will abide by these wishes when giving your healthcare providers instructions related to your care.
These wishes can including the following:
- General guidelines about the type of medical care that you would like provided
- Specific provisions regarding starting or stopping of life support
- Specific provisions about medications and drugs
- Specific provisions regarding pain relief
- Specific provisions regarding the administering of food and water
Unlike the above wishes, you are not permitted to request mercy killing, assisted suicide, or euthanasia as part of your Orange County advanced healthcare directive.
What types of medical decisions can I make in an Orange County advanced healthcare directive? An advanced directive is only one tool of an overall estate plan. A living trust is an additional, important tool that should be considered as part of your strategy. To understand more how a trust can be used as part of your estate plan, view our free guide, Understanding the Revocable Living Trust – In Language that Anyone Can Understand in 8 Minutes. For more information and a consultation, contact an experienced Orange County estate planning lawyer today at (714) 282-7488.