YOUR RIGHT TO ACT TO AVOID CONSERVATORSHIP AND TO PROVIDE INSTRUCTIONS AS TO WHETHER YOU WANT LIFE SUPPORT OR HEROIC MEASURES TAKEN
FREE CALIFORNIA STATUTORY DURABLE POWERS OF ATTORNEY AND ADVANCED HEALTH CARE DIRECTIVE FORMS
A key aspect of proper estate planning is to provide instructions of what your preferences are as to medical treatment if you become incapacitated and to select the persons that you would want to make those tough decisions to see that your wishes are carried out. The Firm takes great pride in the documentation that it provides to accomplish these ends.
In the case of Wendland etc. v. Wendland (2001) 26 Cal. 4th 519, the state supreme court required proof by clear and convincing evidence, either that the incapacitated person wished to refuse life-sustaining treatment or that to withhold such treatment would have been in his or her best interest. Lacking such evidence, the court cannot grant permission to withdraw artificial hydration and nutrition. It is the right of every Californian to have clear instructions of what he or she would want done in a case where they have become incapacitated and unable to make decisions.
Even if you do not have the funds or want to have a professionally prepared estate plan, the California legislature has provided free Statutory Durable Powers of Attorney and Advance Health Care Directive (A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions) forms. While the Firm advises that you consult an attorney in filling out these forms, they are provided below for your use. Properly completing these forms will give you the ability to control who should act for you if you are unable to do so and may avoid the need for an expensive conservatorship court process.
Download Statutory Advanced Health Care Directive
Download Statutory Durable Powers of Attorney