Advance Healthcare Directives & Living Wills
Your health care directive doesn't just plan for the end of life. It plans for any moment when you cannot speak for yourself — and ensures that the people who love you don't have to guess.
An advance health care directive is a legal document that does two things: it records your wishes regarding medical treatment if you are ever unable to communicate them yourself, and it designates a trusted person — your health care representative — to make medical decisions on your behalf in that situation.
In Connecticut, the advance directive combines what many states call a "living will" and a "health care proxy" into a single document. It becomes effective when two physicians determine that you lack the capacity to make your own health care decisions.
It is not a document about dying. It is a document about being prepared — for a sudden accident, a serious illness, a medical crisis that no one saw coming — so that your family is not left making impossible decisions without guidance from you.
What It Covers
Your advance directive can address as much or as little as you choose. Most clients want their document to reflect:
Whether they want life-sustaining treatment continued if there is no reasonable expectation of recovery
Preferences regarding artificial nutrition and hydration
Pain management and comfort care priorities
Organ and tissue donation wishes
Any personal, religious, or ethical values that should guide medical decision-making
The document is yours. I draft it to reflect your actual wishes — not boilerplate language that may not represent what you truly want.
Your Health Care Representative
Choosing your health care representative is one of the most important decisions in your estate plan. This is the person who will speak for you when you cannot — who will talk to doctors, review treatment options, and make calls that may be among the hardest anyone ever has to make.
Your representative should be someone who knows you well, understands your values, and will be able to act clearly and calmly under pressure. It does not have to be a family member. It should be the right person for the role.
Connecticut law also allows you to name an alternate representative — someone who steps in if your first choice is unavailable. I always
Execution Requirements in Connecticut
Connecticut has specific formal requirements for a valid advance directive. The document must be signed in the presence of two witnesses, neither of whom can be your designated health care representative, a current health care provider, or an employee of a health care facility where you are receiving treatment.
These requirements exist to protect against undue influence — but they also mean that documents prepared informally, without proper execution, may not be honored when they are needed. I ensure every directive I prepare is executed correctly and would hold up in a hospital setting without question.
A Note on HIPAA Authorizations
A health care directive governs medical decision-making. A HIPAA authorization governs medical information — it authorizes designated individuals to access your protected health information, receive updates from providers, and be involved in your care.
The two documents serve different functions, and both belong in a complete estate plan. I prepare both as part of every comprehensive plan I draft.
These are not comfortable documents to think about. But the families who have them in place — and the clients who prepared them — are universally glad they did.