Healthcare Directive Los Alamitos
A California Estate Planning Attorney Can Help You With a Healthcare Directive
Most of us don’t want to think about end-of-life issues, but it’s important to know that planning for that part of the future in regards to your personal health can bring about peace of mind. Having a healthcare directive is a way of making sure that your wishes for healthcare are honored in case you should become temporarily or permanently incapacitated, and cannot make sound healthcare decisions for yourself. In the state of California, the creation of legal health care directives is regulated by the California Health Care Decisions Law which became effective in July of 2000. This law provides for the Advanced Health Care Directive, or AHCD. The AHCD allows you to appoint a health care agent who can make your health care decisions if you become incapacitated, and to make written instructions for your health care in this case as well.
Choosing a Health Care Agent
Choosing a health care agent is an important decision that can give you confidence about how matters will be handled if you should be unable to speak or decide for yourself regarding your health care. You should always choose someone who you know and trust, and you should make sure that this person understands what your wishes are. Ideally, this person may be a family member, spouse, or close friend. However, you may not choose your own doctor or an employee in a health care facility where you are receiving care. Your health care agent can consent to treatment or refuse it for you, and may also withdraw life-sustaining treatments, if this is what you have expressed as your wish. Your health care agent may have access to all your medical records if you give him or her this permission to see those records going forward.
General Estate Planning
If you’re planning on making a healthcare directive, you may also want to consider planning your estate as well. A California estate planning attorney can help you with both of these things. Sitting down with an estate planning attorney and discussing your desires and wishes for how your property is to be handled and what your wishes are for end-of-life care, is a comprehensive way of ensuring that your estate and your health are handled in a way that is best for you and your beneficiaries. An estate planning attorney can answer any questions you may have about how the law works and how best to protect your assets, so that your beneficiaries have access to them and they are not tied up in probate court.
Call to Schedule a Free Consultation With a California Estate Planning Attorney Today
If you are thinking about establishing a healthcare directive and planning your estate, call to schedule a free consultation with a California estate planning attorney today. We are here for you and can sit down to discuss the particulars of this type of plan for your health management for the future. When you are able to resolve these issues now, it will give you a greater sense of control over your care and peace of mind for your future. The compassionate legal staff at the Law Office of Kerry P. O’Brien of California will use their extensive knowledge of estate planning law to help you set up a solid plan for you and your beneficiaries. We serve the cities of Los Alamitos, Long Beach, Lakewood, Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, Garden Grove, Westminster and Anaheim. Stop by our website at kerryobrienlaw.com or call us at 866-983-0747 and let us help you plan for the future of your estate.