Advance Decisions

An Advance Decision is a legal document which sets out your wishes about health and welfare decisions, what medical treatment you do or don’t want to receive, and whether or not you want to be resuscitated. 

An Advance Decision records your wishes and decisions so that family and friends or medical staff know what action they should take if you are unable to express wishes yourself for example in an emergency following an accident.  An alternative is to appoint an attorney in a health and welfare LPA and give them authority to make life sustaining decisions on your behalf.  The main difference between giving authority to an attorney and making an Advance decision is that in the former case you want your attorney to make the decision about treatment for you, and in the latter case you are making the decision yourself.

To discuss an advanced decision or for more information, please contact Rebecca Bristow at rb@startpointlaw.co.uk or call 01548 288008