Personal Finance & Estate › Wills, trusts & estate planning › Incapacity planning (if you can't decide for yourself)
Advance health care directive & HIPAA release (California)
CA law since 2000· Legal document or tool
Standard practiceWhat most planners, CPAs and attorneys recommend.
A California form naming who makes your medical decisions if you can't, and stating your wishes for care.
See it on the Personal Finance & Estate map →How it works
California's statutory form (Probate Code Sec. 4701) has two main parts: a health care power of attorney naming an agent and backups, and instructions on life support, pain relief, organ donation and where you want care. Sign before two qualified adult witnesses or a notary; nursing-home residents also need an ombudsman witness. Add a HIPAA release so doctors can share records with your agent and successor trustee. It does not cover money; that is the durable power of attorney.
Why it matters for you
Standard practice for every adult. Without one, doctors rely on family by custom, disagreements can stall care, and a court conservatorship may be needed.
Think of it like
Like a property-management agreement for your health: it names who decides and spells out standing instructions.
Rules, limits and sources (2026)
California's Health Care Decisions Law took effect July 1, 2000; the HIPAA Privacy Rule (2003) governs record sharing; the Secretary of State keeps a voluntary directive registry.
Watch out for
How well directives guide care in a crisis is debated; studies find many can't be located when needed or are too vague to follow.
Connections (2)
▸Advance health care directive & HIPAA release (California) is a core document of Incapacity planning (if you can't decide for yourself)Standard practice
How they connect
Incapacity planning rests on three documents: a durable power of attorney for money, a living trust for trust assets, and the advance health care directive for medical decisions. The directive names the health agent and states treatment wishes; its HIPAA release lets doctors confirm incapacity to the successor trustee.
When it applies
California's Health Care Decisions Law (2000) merged earlier durable powers of attorney for health care and 'living will' declarations into one statutory form.
How sure?
Probate Code Secs. 4600-4806 govern health care decisions; State Bar and estate-planning guides list the directive as a standard document.
Watch out for
How trusts define incapacity, often by one or two doctors' letters, varies by attorney and can cause delays when it matters.
▸Advance health care directive & HIPAA release (California) guides decisions in Long-term care (custodial care Medicare won't pay)Standard practice
How they connect
When dementia or frailty leaves someone unable to decide, the health care agent named in the directive chooses doctors, facilities and treatments, including a move to assisted living, a nursing home or hospice. Written wishes about staying home and life support guide those choices, reducing family conflict and the need for a conservatorship.
When it applies
Usually arises late in life, often with dementia; California's 2000 law lets agents make these decisions.
How sure?
Probate Code Sec. 4617 defines health care decisions to include selecting providers and institutions; facilities request the agent's documents at admission.
Watch out for
Limits are real: an agent can't commit someone to a mental-health facility, and placement in a locked dementia unit over objection can be legally murky.