Advance Directives

Give copies to someone who would know if you became seriously ill. You may also want to consider giving a copy to your physician, minister, family members or close friends. Discuss with them the [...]

In most cases, no; the document need only be signed in the presence of two witnesses. One of the witnesses must be someone who is not your spouse, blood relative, heir, or person responsible for [...]

Some choices you may make in filling out an advance directive may not be in keeping with the teachings of your religion. If this is a concern to you, discuss the matter with your minister, [...]

Yes. Most likely any instructions which would result in withholding or withdrawing life-prolonging treatments would not be honored during the time you are pregnant.

Yes. It is believed your right to make choices includes the ability to choose not to be given food and water artificially, even if withholding this treatment shortens your life.

A health care surrogate is a person you choose to make health care decisions for you if you are not able to do so for yourself. Your surrogate should be someone who knows your wishes and who will [...]

No, not if you have an advance directive and your instructions are clear. Particularly in conditions with a sudden onset, it may take days or even weeks before the reasonable degree of certainty. [...]

Usually it is not possible to determine the chance of survival in an emergency situation or to determine the outlook for recovery. After the initial emergency has passed and the prognosis for [...]

Yes, you may do so at any time. If you do make changes to any advance directive, be sure to destroy all of the outdated copies and provide copies of the updated version to the appropriate people.

No. A severe illness or serious accident can happen to a person at any age. If you have strong feelings about what choices you would want in such a situation, regardless of your age, you are [...]