Advance Healthcare Directives and Living Wills in Piperton

Choose both a decision-maker and a way to express your values

Naming an agent and describing your healthcare preferences answer different questions. The agent designation identifies a person you want involved in healthcare decisions; your preferences communicate what you value about care. One does not automatically explain the other. A person may know your wishes well, but clear written guidance can still help communicate them.

Tennessee’s Advance Directive for Health Care form addresses an agent or alternate as well as healthcare preferences. When reviewing your plans, consider whether the person you have named could use your instructions to understand what matters to you, especially if circumstances are not covered by a specific direction.

Use a values-to-instructions worksheet

Before preparing or revising a document, make a one-page worksheet in your own words. For each issue that matters to you, write down the value behind it, the instruction or preference you want to communicate, and any context your agent would need to understand it. For example, if being able to communicate with loved ones is important, note that value and describe what you want your decision-maker to understand about it. This is a preparation tool, not a substitute for the directive.

• What matters most to me when considering healthcare?
• What concerns or circumstances would I want my agent to understand?
• Who should be my agent, and who is an alternate?
• What might need clarification before these preferences are put into a document?

Check older instructions against your current choice

Gather any existing advance directive, living will, healthcare power of attorney, or other written healthcare instructions. Compare them with your current preferences and the person you now want involved. Look for changes in your chosen agent or alternate, language that no longer reflects your values, and directions that may leave your agent unsure how to interpret them. Do not assume that an older document and a newer designation work together simply because both are available.

A healthcare directive is also different from a durable financial power of attorney. A power of attorney authorizes someone to act for you within the scope and limits of that document; financial authority and healthcare decision-making should not be treated as interchangeable. Keep each document’s purpose and the role it assigns clear.

Prepare for a focused document review

Bring your worksheet, existing healthcare documents, and a short list of questions. Note when each document was prepared, who has copies, and whether the people you have named understand the role you intend for them. Tennessee’s form includes document-signing and copy-sharing instructions; review the applicable instructions rather than relying on assumptions about how a document should be completed.

Dale Law Group, PLLC offers advance healthcare directive and living will planning as part of its Tennessee estate-planning services. A review can focus on whether your written preferences and agent designation communicate the same plan, and whether a separate document or authorization needs to be considered.