Your medical wishes, documented.
Advance Health Care Directives in San Ramon, CA
An advance health care directive (living will) specifies your medical treatment preferences and names a healthcare agent to make decisions if you can't speak for yourself.
Hospitals cannot follow your wishes if they're not documented.
Quick Answer
An advance health care directive records your medical treatment preferences and names a health care agent. Govind Gopal, California Legal Document Assistant in San Ramon, prepares directives at your specific direction. Free 30-minute intro call.
What's Included
What an Advance Health Care Directive covers
Records your medical treatment preferences in your own words
Names a health care agent you choose
Follows California statutory requirements
Gives family written guidance during a medical crisis
Speaks for you if you cannot communicate
Can address life-sustaining treatment, pain relief, and organ donation
Can be updated at any time while you have capacity
Prepared at your specific direction
Who Needs This
Who needs a advance health care directive?
An advance health care directive is a common document for adults of any age. Below is general information.
Adults 18 and Older
Once a child turns 18, parents generally no longer have automatic authority to make medical decisions for them.
People with Chronic Conditions
Written treatment preferences can be shared with each of your health care providers.
Surgical Patients
Some people complete a directive before surgery in case of unexpected complications.
Families Who May Disagree
A directive records what you want, so family members are not left guessing.
How It Works
The advance health care directive process.
Here is how our document preparation process works. Govind prepares the directive you select, following your instructions. He does not give legal or medical advice.
- 01
Free Intro Call
A 30-minute call where Govind explains his document preparation process, the documents he can prepare, and his fees. Questions about which documents are right for you should be directed to a California estate planning attorney.
- 02
Written Agreement & Your Instructions
Before any services begin, you sign the written Legal Document Assistant contract. You tell Govind who you want as your health care agent and what your treatment preferences are.
- 03
Document Preparation
Govind prepares your advance directive from your instructions. You review every section to confirm it reflects your wishes.
- 04
Signing
You sign the directive with two witnesses or before a notary. As a notary public, Govind can notarize your signature.
California Considerations
What California law means for your advance health care directive.
General information about advance health care directives in California. This is not legal advice.
- California recognizes advance health care directives under the Probate Code.
- A directive generally must be signed before two qualified witnesses or acknowledged before a notary.
- A POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) is a separate medical order completed with a physician.
- There are limits on who may serve as your health care agent, such as your treating health care provider in most cases.
Related Services
Other services you may also need.
Common Questions
Clear answers to real questions.
Categories
Many adults of all ages choose to complete one, because illness or an accident can happen at any age. As general information, once someone turns 18, parents generally no longer have automatic authority to make medical decisions for them.
A POLST is a physician's order, generally for people with serious illness, completed with a doctor. An Advance Health Care Directive is your own document, which can name a health care agent and record your treatment preferences.
Generally, yes — while you have capacity, you can revoke an old directive and sign a new one. Many people give copies of the current version to their agent and doctor.
Still have questions? Talk to Govind directly.
Every situation is different. A quick call is the fastest way to get a real answer.