Facts to Know

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1. There are two main types of advance directives: medical power of attorney and a living will (and, in some states, special rules for the patient's Do-No-Resuscitate consent).

2. A medical power of attorney-also called a durable power of attorney for health care, health care proxy or appointment of health care agent-is a legal document in which you name a person to make medical decisions for you any time you are unable to make your own medical decisions.

3. Unless your state has requirements about instructions for particular types of care (e.g., artificially administered nutrition and hydration), it's best not to add instructions to a medical power of attorney because in doing so you may unintentionally restrict your agent's power to act in accordance with your wishes.

4. In a living will-also known as a declaration or an instruction directive-you state your wishes about life-sustaining medical treatments if you are unable to communicate. It is a written document in which you exercise your right to accept or refuse treatment.

5. Some living wills, in particular the 'Five Wishes' living will distributed by the non-profit organization Aging with Dignity, go one step further to also specify, in addition to your wishes for your medical care, your personal, emotional and spiritual wishes for end-of-life care.

6. You can add or modify language in a living will to reflect your wishes more accurately.

7. Use your values, goals, morals and religious beliefs as guideposts for deciding what you would want any medical treatment to accomplish.

8. If you are pregnant at a time at which your living will would go into effect, some states won't honor the living will, especially if your fetus is viable. But since some of these provisions may be unconstitutional, it is best to describe in writing your wishes about life-sustaining treatment in the event of pregnancy.

9. A Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) order tells health care professionals not to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) should your heart stop. Though these orders are most often used by people who are terminally ill or permanently unconscious, people with decision-making capacity can legally consent to a DNR even if they are not terminally ill or permanently unconscious when CPR would have been administered.