Types of Advanced Directives

An advance directive states your healthcare wishes if you are unable to make decisions for yourself.Krankenhauszimmer image by M. Johannsen from Fotolia.com

An advance directive is a document that you put into place to specify what you want to happen if you become unable to make your own healthcare decisions. The two types of advance directives recognized by most states are a durable power of attorney for healthcare and a living will.

Laws concerning advance directives vary from state to state, so be sure you understand the legal requirements of your state. While advance directives are not legally required, they do let you decide how you want your healthcare handled and also help avoid fighting among relatives over your healthcare.

Living Will

A living will contains written instructions about what types of treatment you do or do not want to receive to prolong your life if doctors believe you have no hope of recovery. You can specify whether or not you want to remain hooked up to life-sustaining equipment. For example, do you want ventilators, surgery, resuscitation (CPR), drugs or tube feeding used if you are terminally ill, senile or unlikely to wake up from a coma?

A durable power of attorney for healthcare (also called a healthcare surrogate designation) names the person that you want to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to make the decisions for yourself. This person is often called a patient advocate. Before naming someone as your advocate, make sure the person is willing to fill the role. It is also a good idea to name an alternate advocate in case the first person is unavailable.

The durable power of attorney can also include instructions about treatments that you do or do not want to receive, similar to a living will.

Some states refer to an anatomical donation document as an advance directive. This document specifies whether you wish to donate your organs or tissue for transplant, or donate your body for medical research.