Advance Health Care Directives

An Advance Health Care Directive, also known as a Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare, Living Will, Personal Directive, Advance Directive, Medical Directive or Advance Decision, depending on what state you reside in, is a legal document in which a person specifies what actions should be taken for their health if they are no longer able to make decisions for themselves because of illness or incapacity.

ADVANCE DIRECTIVES BENEFIT EVERYONE! 
Advance Directive documents allow you to express your wishes when you are no longer able to speak for yourself. Even though it may be difficult to think about and discuss end-of-life choices, you will be saving your loved ones from having to guess what you wanted at an exceedingly difficult time.

Why Complete and Discuss Advance Directives?
Download this document “Why Complete and Discuss Advance Directives” here.

My Funeral Wishes form
When you become a member of FCA of SJ & the ML, as part of your Member Packet, you will receive a form called My Funeral Wishes, that you will fill out and send to one of the Mortuaries that FCA of SJ & ML has a contract with. This form includes instructions on exactly how you want your funeral planned and what your wishes are for burial.

State of California Department of Justice - End of Life Care Planning (oag.ca.gov/consumers/general/care)
A highly informative website from our California Attorney General. It includes the following:

• End-of-Life Care Checklist
• Hospice Care
• Palliative Care /Pain Management
• Advance Health Care Directive: What’s Important to You
• California Probate Code Sample Advance Health Care Directive Form: (oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/consumers/ProbateCodeAdvancedHealthCareDirectiveForm-fillable.pdf)
  
• Advance Health Care Directive Checklist
• Advance Health Care Directive Resources

State of California - Secretary of State - Registration of Written Advance Health Care Directive (Probate Code sections 4800-4805): (www.sos.ca.gov/registries/advance-health-care-directive-registry)
The Secretary of State maintains the Advance Health Care Directive Registry as required by Probate Code section 4800 which allows a person who has executed an advance health care directive to register information regarding the directive with the Secretary of State. This information is made available upon request to the registrant's health care provider, public guardian, or legal representative. A request for information must state the need for the information.

Advance Directive for Dementia: Advance Directive for Dementia (dementia-directive.org)
How much medical care would you want if you had Alzheimer's disease or another type of dementia? This form is free to download and use as an Alzheimer's-specific living will.