Newport Beach Living Will Attorney
As an estate planning firm, we are often contacted by clients who are seeking a "living will." In California, the document formerly called a living will has been integrated into another estate planning document that is now known as the advance health care directive.
The advance health care directive is one of the core documents we prepare for our clients as part of a comprehensive estate plan. Health care directives are necessary to help you express your wishes in the event that you should become incapacitated and no longer have the ability to make decisions for yourself regarding critical health care or end-of-life decisions. Through a health care directive you may:
- Appoint a family member or other trusted individual to make key medical decisions on your behalf in the event your doctor determines that you are no longer capable of making those decisions for yourself due to an accident or an illness (such as Alzheimer's or dementia). Such medical decisions may include consent to an operation or other necessary treatment, hiring of caregivers, placement in a skilled nursing facility and other critical health care decisions.
- Express your wishes regarding end-of-life decisions, including the use of feeding tubes, artificial nutrition and hydration and other life-sustaining medical services. By clearly expressing your wishes, you can save your family from potential conflicts that may arise if your wishes are not clearly stated.
- State your wishes regarding organ and tissue donation
- Express your desires regarding the final disposition of your remains (such as, cremation) and specific arrangements for a funeral or memorial service
In addition to drafting your health care directive, our experienced estate planning lawyers can draft a HIPAA release on your behalf (HIPAA is an acronym for "Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996"). A HIPAA release is necessary to authorize your doctors and other health care providers to communicate with a designated person regarding your medical and health care matters. The HIPAA release ensures that the family members, health care agents and representatives you designate have the ability to speak with your doctors, view your medical records and generally be informed about the status of your health and treatment.
Contact the Velasco Law Group
To speak with one of our Long Beach health care directive attorneys, call 562-912-2175 or contact us by e-mail. To provide convenient, local representation to our clients, we now have law offices in Long Beach and Newport Beach, California.
