Healthcare directives specify your wishes and delegate authority to carry them out. Whether you have children or not, and regardless of age, given the possibility of sudden illness or accident, everyone should have these documents.
We serve all of BC with decades of experience helping personal planning needs. Personal planning — also known as estate planning — involves solutions for pre-death events, including times when illness or accidents prevent us from making decisions for ourselves.
The legal documents for these pre-death events include healthcare directives, in addition to a Power of Attorney and Representation Agreement. These documents specify your wishes and delegate authority to carry out your wishes.
Whether you have children or not, and regardless of age, given the possibility of severe injuries from motor vehicle accidents and sudden illness, everyone should make these necessary legal documents.
What Is a Healthcare Directive in BC?
A healthcare directive — also called an Advance Directive — is a written document in which you give instructions directly to your health care providers about the medical treatment you want, or do not want, if you lose the ability to make or communicate those decisions yourself. It is distinct from a Representation Agreement: a Representation Agreement appoints a person (your representative) to make health care decisions on your behalf, while an Advance Directive gives instructions directly to your health care team without requiring them to consult your representative.
Under BC's Health Care (Consent) and Care Facility (Admission) Act, health care providers must follow a valid Advance Directive unless following it would require acting unlawfully, the provider believes the directive does not reflect your current wishes, or the provider believes that your circumstances at the time of treatment are so different from those contemplated in the directive that following it would not be appropriate.
The Difference Between a Healthcare Directive and a Representation Agreement
These two documents serve different — but complementary — functions:
- Healthcare Directive (Advance Directive): You write down specific wishes — for example, that you do not want life-sustaining treatment if you are in a persistent vegetative state, or that you do want aggressive treatment unless there is no reasonable chance of recovery. These instructions are given directly to health care providers.
- Representation Agreement: Under BC's Representation Agreement Act, you appoint a trusted person as your representative to make health care and personal care decisions on your behalf when you cannot make them yourself. A Section 9 Representation Agreement (covering major health care decisions, including refusing life-sustaining treatment) requires that you have full legal capacity when you sign it.
The two documents work together. Your Advance Directive tells your care team your specific wishes; your Representation Agreement appoints someone to advocate for you and fill in the gaps when situations arise that your Advance Directive did not anticipate.
Why Your Age or Health Does Not Matter
Many people put off making these documents because they are young, or healthy, or assume the need is decades away. This is a mistake. The reality is that:
- Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of traumatic brain injury in BC — and they happen to people of every age
- Sudden strokes, cardiac events, or infections can render an otherwise healthy person incapable of making decisions without warning
- The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that previously healthy adults could be placed on ventilators within days of symptom onset
- Without these documents, your family and health care providers are left guessing — and they may not guess right
If you are incapacitated without a Representation Agreement, your family may need to apply to the BC Supreme Court for a Committee Order under the Patients Property Act — a lengthy and expensive process — simply to have authority to make health care decisions for you. The cost of making a Representation Agreement is a fraction of the cost of that court proceeding.
Who Should Be Your Representative?
Choosing your representative is one of the most important decisions you will make. Your representative must:
- Be at least 19 years old (for a Section 9 RA)
- Be willing and able to carry out your wishes — including making difficult decisions under emotional pressure
- Understand and respect your values and preferences
- Be willing to advocate for your wishes even when other family members disagree
- Act honestly, in good faith, and in your best interests
Name an alternate representative in case your primary representative is unwilling or unable to act when the time comes.
The Power of Attorney: The Financial Parallel
Your Representation Agreement governs health care and personal decisions. Your Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) governs financial and legal decisions. An EPA under BC's Power of Attorney Act authorizes your chosen attorney to manage your bank accounts, pay your bills, manage your property, and handle your legal affairs — and it continues to be effective even after you lose legal capacity (which is exactly when it is needed).
Without an EPA, your family may not be able to access your funds to pay your mortgage, your care costs, or even your everyday expenses while you are incapacitated.
Getting the Documents Right
Healthcare directives, Representation Agreements, and Enduring Powers of Attorney must be prepared and executed correctly to be legally valid. Requirements include specific signing and witnessing provisions under BC's statutes. A document that is not properly executed may not be followed by health care providers or financial institutions when you need it most.
Sea to Sky Law™ prepares the full suite of pre-death personal planning documents — Healthcare Directive, Enduring Power of Attorney, and Representation Agreement — for clients anywhere in British Columbia, by phone or secure video. Contact Andrew Liggett BA JD CD to put your plan in place before you need it.