Personal Directive

Alberta does not have living wills. Instead, we have personal directives.

You may not be able to make decisions if you suffer a serious:

• injury – like from a car accident

• illness – like a heart attack or disease

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A personal directive is a legal document you make in case you can not make your own personal decisions in the future.

 

A personal directive:

• is optional and voluntary

• names the person or people you have picked to make personal decisions for you – a person you name on the personal directive is called an agent

• makes sure your written instructions are known in case something happens to you

• only comes into effect if you are found to lack capacity – that means you are not able to make your own decisions

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When you make a personal directive, the person or people you pick to be your agent have legal authority to make personal decisions for you. This could be temporary or long term.

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Why you should write one:

When you write a personal directive:

• you decide who will be your agent or agents – you can have more than one agent and you can choose the areas they will have authority

• your wishes are written down so there are no questions about what you would want

 

What happens if you do not have a personal directive?

If something happens where you are unable to make your own decisions:

• you do not get to choose your agent

• a healthcare provider may pick your nearest relative to make decisions for you about health care and/or temporary residential placement

• a family member or friend may have to go to court to become your guardian so they can make your personal decisions - this takes time and money

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Kinds of instructions to write:

Your instructions can be about any or all personal matters that are not financial, like:

• medical treatments you would or would not want

• where you would like to live

• who you would like to live with

• who will care for your children – if they are minors

• choices about other personal activities: recreation, employment, education

• any other personal and legal decisions

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When it takes effect

Your agent or agents can step in to make decisions for you if:

• something happens and it looks like you are unable to make decisions

• a capacity assessment is done and confirms you are unable to make decisions

 

You can take back the power to make your own decisions when or if you get better. This is also confirmed with a capacity assessment.