Advanced Healthcare Directive (AHCD) *

An Advanced Healthcare Directive has two main parts: one states the grantor’s wishes for end-of-life care, and the other names an agent to make medical decisions if the grantor cannot speak for themselves. 

A primary benefit of this document is the peace of mind it gives loved ones by removing some of the complicated decisions from their hands during difficult moments.

Some common questions we receive about the Advanced Healthcare Directive include:

In what situations is the Advanced Healthcare Directive needed?

Incapacity or incompetency are the triggering events that activate the provisions in the Advanced Health Care Directive. A medical professional is required to make the determination of incapacity or incompetency.

If you can speak for your wishes, your own words will dictate your care, not the healthcare directive. It is only if you become unable to speak for yourself that your directed plan will act to guide your care.

What Options Should I Select for My End-of-Life Care?

We really cannot guide you in this choice, as it is a deeply personal. This document empowers you to direct your care, should you ever become incapacitated or incompetent. Whether or not you wish to have continued life-support procedures while in the end-stages of a terminal condition is entirely your choice. 

Custom Estate Planning provides Advanced Healthcare Directives in both the Will Package and the Trust Package, but it can also be created as a stand-alone document upon request.

(*Please note that the information on this page is Virginia specific)