A health care directive and living will is a type of advance health care directive (“advance directive“). You (the “declarant”) can use your living will to request or refuse certain future treatments. Your health care providers will then look to your living will for guidance when administering treatments.

These treatments include procedures such as artificial hydration and nutrition, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, artificial respiration, and more. You also need to consider whether you would request or refuse life-prolonging procedures that would only delay the natural dying process. If there are other medical procedures that you would find unacceptable, you should make this clear in your living will.

These issues can be unpleasant to consider. But it can give you peace of mind to know that you have made your choices clear in advance of medical incapacity. By creating a health care directive and living will, you can potentially spare your loved ones from conflicts over your future medical treatments.

In New Jersey, you have the option of naming a trusted person as your health care representative. This person would make health care decisions for you in case you become unable to. The document you would use to name your health care representative is called a durable power of attorney for health care. This is another type of advance directive, in addition to a health care directive and living will.

You are under no obligation to name a health care representative, but you may want to. Having a health care representative means that you have a trusted person ready to advocate for your wishes in the event that you become unable to do so.

When selecting a health care representative, you should choose someone who knows you well and understands your health care wishes. Many people choose a spouse, adult child, sibling, or parent for this role. The person you choose should be capable of being assertive with your doctors and family to advocate for your choices. Another consideration is proximity. You should think about whether your representative will be available and capable of being at your side promptly at your time of need.

Under New Jersey’s Advance Directives for Health Care Act, there are certain limitations on your choice of health care representative. You may not choose an administrator, operator, or employee of a health care institution where you receive care. However, this restriction does not apply to anyone related to you by blood, marriage, adoption, or domestic partnership.

Before you commit to a health care representative, you should talk it over with them. You need to make sure they understand your wishes and are willing to take on this important responsibility.

According to New Jersey law, you must sign and date your health care directive and living will. If you are unable to sign, you may direct someone to do so for you.

You must also fulfill the witnessing requirement. To do this, you have two options:

• You may sign your advance directives in front of a notary public, attorney, or other individual who is licensed to take oaths; or
• You may sign in front of two adult witnesses. They must then sign their names, confirming that you are signing voluntarily, and that you are of sound mind.

You should be aware that if you named a health care representative, this person may not be a witness to your living will.

After you have signed your advance directives, you need to make sure they get into the right hands. You should give copies to your health care representative, your physician, and your loved ones. It’s a good idea to store an extra copy in a safe place that a trusted loved one can access in case of an emergency situation.

You should review your advance directives from time to time to make sure that they continue to reflect your wishes. A good rule of thumb is to review them every few years at least. You may need to update them sooner if you have gone through major life changes. The type of circumstances that may make you reconsider your advance directives include:

• A change in your medical condition
• Advances in medical technology
• An interstate move
• A divorce

All of these situations could make you rethink your health care directive and living will decisions or your choice of health care representative. In the case of a divorce, you may need to choose a new health care representative to replace your former spouse.