Advance directives are legal documents that allow control over decisions such as what care should be provided when capacity to make decisions is lost. There are two primary types. Firstly there is a Living Will and secondly a Durable Power of Attorney for health care. These are recognized and defined documents by statute with the aim of providing a legal tool by which people can express their wishes. However, they are not the exclusive means available to express wishes. Any authentic expression of a patient's wishes should be respected.
An advance directive cannot be completed after a patient becomes mentally incapacitated and it does not become effective until after incapacity has been determined. If an advance directive has been prepared, an authorized surrogate must be identified to make medical care decisions.
