Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Advance directives do not change standard care or emergency care.

Advance directives are intended to guide care when you can no longer make or communicate your own healthcare decisions. If you're able, you will make those decisions yourself.

If you're unable to do so, your advance directive tells your healthcare team who to ask for decisions on your behalf.

In an emergency, healthcare professionals will always provide appropriate treatment. The treatment decisions in an advance directive only apply when it has been determined a person is very near the end of life.

An advance directive is about helping you receive care that reflects your decisions, not about preventing you from receiving care when you need it.

Your healthcare agent generally makes healthcare decisions for you only when you're unable to make or communicate those decisions yourself.

As long as you're able to make and communicate your own healthcare decisions, your healthcare agent does not speak for you.

If your healthcare agent does need to act on your behalf, their role is to help make decisions based on what matters to you.

A living will — sometimes called “healthcare instructions” — is intended to guide healthcare decisions when you're unable to make or communicate those decisions yourself and you have no chance of recovery from an illness or injury. If you can recover, a living will does not go into effect.

It’s best to name one primary healthcare agent and one or more alternate healthcare agents. Your primary healthcare agent is the person you want to act first. An alternate can step in if your primary agent is unavailable, unwilling, or unable to serve. Having multiple people make decisions at the same time can sometimes make decision-making more complicated.

No. You generally do not need a lawyer to complete an advance directive.

You can create an advance directive yourself as long as you follow the requirements in your state, which may include having your document witnessed, notarized, or both. MyDirectives guides you through the process of creating your advance directive and helps you complete the steps your state requires for your document.

If you have questions about your individual legal situation or need legal advice, you may want to talk with an attorney.

It depends on your state. States have different requirements for completing an advance directive. Depending on where you live and the type of document you're completing, you may need witnesses, notarization, or both.

MyDirectives guides you through your state’s requirements for completing your document. If your document needs notarization, MyDirectives offers Remote Online Notarization (RON), allowing you to meet with a notary online and complete the notarization process from wherever you are. There is a fee for this service.

You can change your healthcare decisions and your healthcare agent at any time. Your advance directive should reflect what matters to you now. Your health, relationships, priorities, or views about treatment may change over time, and your advance directive can change with them.

Review your advance directive at least once a year and whenever you experience an important change in your life or health. If you update it, make sure your healthcare agent, loved ones, and healthcare providers know you've made a change and have access to the most current version.

Share your advance directive with the people who may need to know about or act on your healthcare decisions.

That typically includes your healthcare agent, loved ones, caregivers, and healthcare providers.

Most importantly, talk with your healthcare agent about your decisions. Sharing the document is important, but having the conversation can help your agent understand what's important to you if they're ever asked to make decisions on your behalf.

MyDirectives makes your advance directive available to authorized healthcare professionals when and where it's needed.

When you complete or store your advance directive with MyDirectives, it's securely stored in our national advance care planning document registry, where healthcare organizations and authorized healthcare professionals can find and access it when and where care decisions are being made.

Because not every healthcare organization or system is connected in the same way, you should also share your advance directive directly with your healthcare agent and healthcare providers. You can do this easily through your MyDirectives account.

A digital advance directive is easier to access, share, and keep current than a document stored only on paper.

A paper advance directive may be difficult to find during an emergency, especially if you're away from home or receiving care from healthcare professionals who don't know you. It’s also easier for healthcare professionals to locate a digital document when they need it.

With MyDirectives, you can securely store and manage your advance care planning documents in one place, share them with the people you choose, and help make them available to healthcare professionals when they're needed. Plus, MyDirectives fully digital advance directive automatically provides you with the correct documentation completion instructions for your state.

Protecting your information is a responsibility we take seriously. MyDirectives was built specifically for healthcare and uses safeguards designed to protect your information and maintain the security and reliability of the systems that store it and make it available.

Our commitment to protecting your information is backed by recognized healthcare security and privacy standards, including HITRUST R2 Certification, SOC 2 Type II, and HIPAA-compliant technology and practices. Learn more in our Privacy & Security section.

MyDirectives does not sell your personal health information.

Your information may be shared or made available as permitted by you, as needed to provide MyDirectives services, and as permitted or required by law. This can include making your advance care planning information available to authorized healthcare professionals for your care.

For more information about how MyDirectives collects, uses, protects, and shares your information, please review our Privacy Policy and HIPAA Notice.

Creating a MyDirectives account and creating, uploading, storing, managing, and sharing your advance directive is free.

MyDirectives also provides Remote Online Notarization (RON) for people who need or choose to have their advance directive notarized. This service is provided through a partner for an additional fee. More information, including the cost, is provided when you complete your advance directive.