Healthcare directive.
In plain English
A healthcare directive (sometimes called an advance directive) is a document that records your medical wishes ahead of time. It usually has two parts. A living will spells out the treatments you do or do not want if you are dying or permanently unconscious, such as whether you want to be kept on a ventilator. A healthcare power of attorney names a person to make medical decisions for you when you cannot make them yourself. The forms and witnessing rules are set by each state, and many states publish their own free template.
01Why it matters
If you are ever unconscious in a hospital with no directive, doctors and family may have to guess what you would want, and disagreements can land in court.
02The math, step by step
Aisha fills out her state's advance directive form, names her husband as her healthcare agent, and states she does not want to be kept on life support if there is no chance of recovery. Years later, after a severe stroke, her husband is able to follow her written wishes instead of guessing.
03What this is NOT
A healthcare directive only covers medical decisions. It gives the person you name no authority over your bank accounts or property. Money decisions need a separate financial power of attorney.
04Receipts
Every figure on this page is sourced to a primary document. Tap to open the original.
Plain-English answers from our glossary. Receipts included. Never advice.
Educational tool. Answers come only from ClearMoneySchool's published glossary and are not advice. Why we never give advice