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What to include in your advance directive: The name and contact information of your healthcare agent or proxy. Answers to specific questions about your preferences for care if you become unable to speak for yourself. The forms and questions asked vary a bit from state to state.

A living will and a medical power of attorney are the main types of advance directives. If you don't have a living will and a health care agent, a person other than your family member may decide what kind of care you receive. A decision may be made by a doctor who doesn't know you, or it may even be made by the courts.

As long as you can still make your own decisions, your advance directive won't be used. You can change or cancel it at any time. Your health care agent will only make choices for you if you can't or don't want to decide for yourself.

Advance directives are legally recognized documents and doctors must respect your known wishes, but doctors can always refuse to comply with your wishes if they have an objection of conscience or consider your wishes medically inappropriate.

Advance directives do not expire. An advance directive remains in effect until you change it. If you complete a new advance directive, it invalidates the previous one. You should review your advance directives periodically to ensure that they still reflect your wishes.

If there is evidence to suggest the person has changed his or her mind for example, if they have done something that goes against the advance directivethis would make the advance directive invalid.

The primary outcome is completion of four key ACP behaviours: identification of a surrogate decision maker, communication about goals, completing advance directives and ensuring documents are in the medical record.

To be valid, an advance directive must be signed by you in the presence of two witnesses, who will also sign. The person you name as a health care agent may not also be a witness. Some states also require the advance directive to be notarized.

Checklist: Creating An Advance Health Care Directive200bMedical devices to aid breathing (ventilator)Medical devices to aid nutrition and hydration (tube feeding)Blood transfusions.Dialysis.Antibiotics.Surgery.

A legal and ethical analysis of advance directive overrides is provided as no court to date has awarded damages to plaintiffs who alleged their loved one suffered "wrongful life" following a successful life-prolonging intervention.