Is an Advance Health Care Directive different from a living will?
The Advance Health Care Directive has also replaced living wills in California. It allows you to do more than a living will, which only can state your desire not to receive life-sustaining treatment if you are terminally ill or permanently unconscious. An Advance Health Care Directive allows you to state your wishes about refusing or accepting life-sustaining treatment in any situation. Unlike a living will, an Advance Health Care Directive also can be used to state your desires about your health care in any situation in which you are unable to make your own decisions, not just when you are in a coma or are terminally ill.
