Power of Attorney & Healthcare Directives

POWERS OF ATTORNEY AND ADVANCE HEALTH CARE DIRECTIVES

California Advance Health Care Directive Attorneys

Powers of attorney and advance health care directives are essential parts of any California estate plan. Both of these documents address the important question about who will act and speak for you if you are incapacitated and unable to speak for yourself.

At the Law Offices of Andersson & Andersson in Walnut Creek, California, our lawyers draft health care directives for individuals throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and California.

Our lawyers talk to our clients a great deal about the person they want to make financial and health care decisions for them in the event of incapacity and how they want those decisions made. You may decide you want different persons to handle your financial and health decisions.

What is a Power of Attorney?

You may assume that, if you are not able to make decisions for yourself, your spouse or children could step in and do what needs to be done. Unfortunately, that is not the case. If you do not make a power of attorney designation, your family members would have to go thorough the time and expense of a conservatorship proceeding before they could write checks, manage or sell assets, or make other financial decisions. If your family members do not agree on who should do these things, the result can be disputes and even asset-draining litigation.

What is a Health Care Directive?

A California advance health care directive is a comprehensive document combining what is known in other states as a living wil, a health care power of attorney, and other documents granting specific health care powers. A health care directive serves two purposes:

• It allows you to name a person as your agent to make health care decisions for you if you are not able to make those decisions yourself.
• It allows you to let family members and health care providers know how you want your health care decisions made, including whether you want extraordinary measures if you are in a terminal condition with no hope of recovery.

For More Information

A sound estate plan can provide a seamless transition if you are incapacitated. For more information or to set up an appointment with our power of attorney and health care directive lawyers, call 925-935-1050 or fill out the contact form on this website.