Advance Healthcare Directives and Living Wills in Charleston

Start with the relationship between your wishes and your agent

Tennessee’s Advance Directive for Health Care form addresses both an agent and healthcare preferences. The planning question is how those parts should work together: what guidance do you want to put in writing, and whom do you want to identify to help make healthcare decisions?

A written preference can explain what is important to you, while an agent designation identifies a person to act on your behalf. Neither should be treated as interchangeable with a financial power of attorney, which authorizes someone to act on financial matters within its scope. A financial agent is not automatically your healthcare decision-maker just because that person has another role.

Use a preference-and-agent worksheet

Before preparing or updating documents, make a one-page worksheet with two columns: “What I want my decision-maker to understand” and “Who I want to speak for me.” In the first column, note the values or care preferences you want discussed. In the second, list your proposed agent and alternate, if you are considering one, along with any questions about whether they understand your wishes.

This worksheet is a conversation aid, not a substitute for the directive. It can help you spot a mismatch—for example, detailed written preferences that have not been discussed with the person you are considering as agent, or a trusted person who may need clearer guidance about your priorities.

Check older documents before making changes

Gather any existing advance directive, living will, healthcare power of attorney, and related records you have. Compare their dates and language with your current preferences and proposed agent. Look for different people named in different documents, preferences that no longer express your wishes, or terms you want clarified.

Also distinguish healthcare decision-making from access to information. A HIPAA authorization concerns access to protected health information; it is not itself a healthcare power of attorney. Bring any related authorization you want considered so the documents can be discussed together without assuming they serve the same purpose.

Prepare for a focused planning conversation

Bring your worksheet and the documents you found. Note who has copies, whom you would want contacted about your wishes, and any questions about communicating the directive. Tennessee’s state form includes an agent and alternate, healthcare preferences, and instructions concerning signing and sharing copies. Do not rely on a remembered signing method; review the applicable form and instructions for your circumstances.

Useful questions include: Do my written preferences match what I would want my agent to understand? Should I name an alternate? Do older documents identify a different person or express different wishes? How should my healthcare directive be coordinated with a separate financial power of attorney? What should I do with copies after the documents are prepared?

Planning for Charleston residents

Dale Law Group, PLLC offers advance healthcare directive and living-will planning as part of its Tennessee estate-planning services. The firm’s only office is in Murfreesboro; it does not have an office in Charleston. You can contact the firm to discuss your planning questions and next steps.