Description
An Advance Health Care Directive is actually one document that combines the contents of a “living will” and a “healthcare power of attorney”. It also lets you express your wishes regarding donation of organs and the designation of your primary physician.
A Living Will is a written document in which you state your end of life wishes for medical treatment and life support, such as the use of ventilators or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and other types of medical care. If at any point you’re unable to communicate your wishes because you’re in a coma or because a doctor has diagnosed you as being incapable of doing so, a Living Will specifies your specific wishes to your family and doctors.
A Healthcare Power of Attorney is a written document that allows the person making the document, called the principal, to designate an attorney-in-fact to make healthcare decisions when the principal becomes too sick or incapacitated to do so. The healthcare agent is responsible for making decisions regarding all aspects of the principal’s medical care, only as long as the principal is incapable of making decisions on their own.

