Are you looking for a living will lawyer in Pasadena, CA?
At The Werner Law Firm, PC, we are trusted living will lawyers serving clients across Pasadena and the surrounding area.
If you are planning for the possibility that an illness or injury could leave you unable to make your own medical decisions, a living will allows you to state your treatment preferences in advance. It also identifies the person you trust to communicate those preferences to your physicians.
Our Pasadena, CA living will lawyer prepares living wills as part of a complete advance health care directive. The Werner Law Firm, PC has served California families since 1975 and offers consultations in English and Spanish. Your first consultation is free. Contact our office to schedule an appointment.
Residents age 65 and older make up 17.4% of Pasadena's population. Advance health care planning is a pressing concern for these residents and for the adult children who may be called on to make medical decisions on their behalf.
A living will is a written statement of the medical treatment you would accept or decline if you were no longer able to communicate. In California, these instructions are generally included in an advance health care directive, a single document that can also appoint an agent to make health care decisions for you. A living will attorney in Pasadena drafts the instructions in clear, specific language that physicians and hospital staff can apply. Pairing those instructions with an agent appointment means your wishes are both documented and represented.
Each living will reflects the individual's own medical, personal, and religious considerations. Some clients need a stand-alone directive, while others are incorporating health care instructions into a broader estate plan in which each document must be consistent with the others. Our Pasadena living will attorneys handle the following matters.
Living will drafting. We document your instructions regarding life support, artificial nutrition and hydration, resuscitation, and pain management. Each provision addresses the circumstances in which medical providers are most likely to rely on it.
Health care agent appointment. Most clients name a primary agent to communicate with physicians and at least one alternate. We explain the responsibilities of the role so you can select someone prepared to carry them out.
HIPAA authorizations. Federal privacy rules can prevent medical providers from sharing information with family members. A signed authorization permits the individuals you designate to receive medical updates and records.
Directive reviews and updates. An older directive may name an agent who has relocated, become unavailable, or is no longer the appropriate choice. We review existing documents and prepare replacements when they no longer reflect your wishes or circumstances.
Mental health instructions. Some clients want their directive to address psychiatric care preferences in addition to physical treatment. We include those provisions when they are relevant to your situation.
Wills. A will directs the distribution of property after death, while a living will applies only during your lifetime. We prepare both documents together so that their terms are consistent.
Living trusts. A living trust appoints a successor trustee to manage trust assets if you become incapacitated. Many clients execute their trust and their health care directive at the same signing appointment.
Power of attorney. A financial power of attorney authorizes an agent to manage accounts, bills, and property, while your health care agent makes medical decisions. Clients may appoint the same person to both roles or assign them to different individuals.
Special needs trusts. Parents of an adult child with a disability often plan for their own incapacity at the same time they establish a trust for that child. Coordinating the two plans keeps decision-making with people who are familiar with the family's needs.
Troy Werner is a State Bar of California Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trusts, and Probate Law. Certification requires passing a written examination, completing continuing education beyond the standard requirement, and receiving favorable evaluations from judges and attorneys familiar with the attorney's work. Troy earned his law degree through Southwestern's SCALE program in 2009 and has 17 years of practice. In 2023, Christian Legal Aid of Los Angeles named him its Pro-Bono Attorney of the Year. For clients evaluating a living will attorney in Pasadena, CA, this certification provides an independent measure of an attorney's experience in estate planning law.
Our founder, L. Rob Werner, has practiced law for 50 years and is a recipient of the Readers' Choice Award for Best Attorney from the Los Angeles Daily News. That depth of experience informs how we approach health care planning. We draft each directive to work alongside the trust, will, and powers of attorney you already have, which is the coordination you should expect from an estate planning lawyer in Pasadena, CA. Our Pasadena office on North Lake Avenue has helped hundreds of local clients plan for incapacity and for the administration of their estates.
An advanced health care directive typically includes several components, each serving a distinct purpose.
Individual health care instructions. The living will portion of the directive, which states the treatments you accept or decline near the end of life or during a permanent loss of consciousness.
Agent designation. Names the person authorized to make medical decisions for you, along with alternates who serve if that person cannot.
HIPAA authorization. Permits physicians and hospitals to release medical information to the individuals you name.
POLST. A physician order printed on bright pink paper and signed by you and a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant. It complements a directive for people with serious illness but does not replace one.
After-death instructions. Optional provisions addressing organ donation and other wishes that take effect after death.
A directive is most effective when its instructions are clear, its agent is prepared, and the document is available when needed. Most problems arise in one of these areas rather than from a technical legal defect.
Specific instructions are easier for medical providers to apply. A provision requesting comfort care only when two physicians find no reasonable likelihood of recovery gives clearer direction than a general instruction to avoid extraordinary measures.
Your agent should be accessible, composed under pressure, and willing to follow your instructions even if other family members disagree.
Discussing your wishes with family members in advance reduces the likelihood of disputes during a medical crisis.
Your agent and primary physician should each have a copy. Where you store the original is as important as its contents.
A directive must be signed while you have the capacity to understand it. Postponing until after a serious diagnosis can limit your options, which is why incapacity planning is best addressed early.
Clients of our Pasadena living will lawyers typically complete the process within a few weeks of the initial consultation. The process generally follows these steps.
A free consultation to discuss your health, your values, and the individuals you intend to appoint.
Discussions with your proposed agent and, where appropriate, your physician.
Preparation and review of the directive and any supporting authorizations.
A signing appointment with the required witnesses or a notary.
Distribution of copies and, if you choose, registration with the California Secretary of State's advance health care directive registry.
We recommend reviewing your directive after significant life events, including a new diagnosis, marriage, divorce, or the death of a named agent.
The following materials allow us to evaluate your existing documents and prepare a directive that reflects your current wishes.
Any existing directive, living will, or health care power of attorney, including documents signed in another state
Names and contact information for your preferred agent and alternates
Notes on specific treatments you wish to accept or decline, along with any religious or personal considerations
Your will, trust, or financial power of attorney, if you have them
During the consultation, we review your documents, explain how each decision will appear in your directive, and provide a fee quote before you decide whether to proceed. If any materials are unavailable, our living will lawyer in Pasadena will identify what is needed and how to obtain it.
The following Pasadena and statewide organizations provide information that may be useful before or after your consultation.
Huntington Health's advance care planning page provides directive forms in English, Spanish, and Chinese for patients of the Pasadena hospital.
The Pasadena Senior Center on East Holly Street lists social services for older adults, including health insurance counseling and case management in Spanish and English.
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services explains what an advance directive form covers, including health care instructions, agent appointment, organ donation, and designation of a primary physician.
The state POLST program explains how a physician order works alongside a directive for individuals with serious illness.
A properly prepared living will allows your medical care to follow your own instructions. Contact us to schedule a free consultation with a Pasadena living will attorney at our North Lake Avenue office. We will review any existing documents, discuss your treatment preferences, and explain the cost of preparing your directive before you decide how to proceed.
The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship! See full disclaimer here.
