A Personal Directive is just that: personal.
The Personal Directives Act of Alberta allows you to choose the content
for your Personal Directive. The following examples of Personal
Directives give you an idea of the options you may choose to include in
your Personal Directive.
You may choose only to designate an Agent, or only
to write specific instructions. Alternately, you may wish to write some
instructions and to designate an Agent. You may state you do
not wish life-sustaining interventions. Illness outcomes and
life-sustaining interventions however, have many uncertainties and
complexities; they often involve complicated technology. For these
reasons, you should consult specific healthcare providers for help, if
you wish to record your wishes concerning specific medical
interventions. You may wish to include them, exclude them or allow a
trial of treatment for a specified period of time. As your Personal
Directive only comes into effect when you are incapacitated, you may
choose to name someone who knows you well to be part of the future
determination of your incapacity. All of the “options” are
interchangeable.
Although a personal directive becomes a legal document a
lawyer is not required to write a directive. However you may wish to
consult a lawyer, your family, physician, pastor or any other person you
feel would be able to help you to make sure your instructions are
clear.
What You Need To Know
A Personal Directive must meet the following
requirements stated in the Personal Directives Act:
A Personal Directive must be:
a) in writing (this includes handwriting or computer
or typewriter generated form)
b) dated on or after December 1, 1997
c) signed at the end
i) by the maker, in the presence of a witness, or
ii) if the maker is physically unable to sign, by
another person on behalf of the maker, at the maker's direction and in
the presence of both the maker and a witness, and
iii) by the witness in the presence of the maker.
The person who signs on behalf of the maker may not be:
a) a person designated in the directive as an Agent
b) the spouse of a person designated in the directive
as an Agent
A witness may not be:
a) a person designated in the directive as an Agent
b) the spouse of a person designated as an Agent
c) the spouse of the maker
d) a person who signs the directive on behalf of the
maker
e) the spouse of a person who signs the directive on
behalf of the maker
If you would like your health care provider to be able to
easily check if you have a personal directive, register online at
http://www.seniors.alberta.ca/opg/registry
or by phoning the Alberta Government at 1-877-427-4525.
Checklist
for Writing a Personal Directive
You should
be able to answer "yes" to each of these questions before
you begin writing a personal directive:
Are
you at least 18 years old?
Are
you making this personal directive voluntarily?
Do
you understand the consequences of this personal
directive?
Have
you carefully thought about who you would like to
name as your agent,
if anyone?
Have
you carefully thought about any detailed
instructions you would
like to specify, if any?
Have
you carefully thought about whether or not you would
like to name
any individual to determine your future incapacity,
in collaboration
with a physician or psychologist?
Once
your personal directive is complete you should be able to
answer "yes" to each of these questions:
Is
the personal directive in writing? This includes
printing, handwriting,
and typed format.
Have
you signed the personal directive at the end, in the
presence of
a witness? (Or, if you are physically incapable of
signing, have
you asked someone else to sign for you?)
Has
a witness signed the personal directive, in your
presence?
Is
your witness someone other than your spouse, your
agent, your agent's
spouse, the person who signed the directive on your
behalf, or the
spouse of the person who signed on your behalf?
Is
the personal directive dated on or after December 1,
1997?
Have
you checked that your personal directive does not
include
financial matters? (Personal directives deal only
with health care,
accommodation, and participation in social,
educational and employment
activities. For parents it now also deals with the
care and education of children.)
Do
your doctor, other health care professionals and
people who are
close to you know you have a personal directive?
Have
you considered providing a copy of your personal
directive to the
people you feel should have a copy?
Have
you considered completing a "Notice of Personal
Directive" wallet card?
Have you
considered registering your directive online so that your healthcare
providers can search for it?
If your directive includes the naming of an agent:
Have
you named an agent, and a substitute agent?
Is
your agent at least 18 years old? Until the agent is
18, he or she
will be unable to act on your behalf.
Does
your agent know that he or she has been named in
your personal directive?
Is
your agent familiar with your wishes about your
health care, accommodation,
and participation in social, educational, and
employment activities?
Is
your agent familiar with the things which you would
consider before
making personal decisions so he or she can make
decisions based
on knowing what you would have decided and what you
consider to
be important?
If your
directive includes treatment preferences or other
instructions:
Are
all of your instructions legal? (Any illegal
instructions such as
euthanasia or assisted suicide will be void.)
Are
your instructions clear and not open to more than
one interpretation?
