Advance health care directives - A superpower for your health care decisions

If you were very unwell and couldn’t speak for yourself, who would decide what treatment you receive – and how would they know what you really want?

An advance health care directive lets you take control now, so your future medical care reflects your values, not guesswork or family disagreements. It’s one of the most powerful – and most overlooked – parts of a good estate and asset protection plan.

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Ready to create your advance health care directive?

You can complete the online form at your own pace, then choose whether you’d like Ross Holmes Virtual Lawyers Limited to review or advise on your directive.

Start your DYOdocs advance health care directive for 1 person $11.50

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Start your DYOdocs advance health care directive for a couple $23

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Step 1: Clarity

  • At Ross Holmes Virtual Lawyers Limited, we believe a great advance health care directive rests on three pillars: clarity, planning, and communication.

    An advance health care directive is a written record of your wishes about medical treatment if, in the future, you can’t make or communicate decisions yourself – for example, after a serious accident, stroke, or during advanced illness.

    It can help answer questions like:

    • Do you want life-support continued in certain situations?

    • What matters most to you if you’re nearing the end of life – comfort, time at home, being pain-free?

    • Are there treatments you definitely would or would not want?

  • Health professionals must take your views into account when deciding on your treatment, especially where you made those views clear in advance: Health and Disability Commissioner (Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights) Regulations 1996.

    A well-drafted advance health care directive:

    • Makes your wishes clear and easy for doctors and nurses to understand

    • Reduces uncertainty about what you would have wanted

    • Helps your welfare attorney and family support decisions that line up with your values.

    In New Zealand, wishes for assisted dying are invalid if they're included in advance health care directives.

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Step 2: Planning

  • Your advance health care directive can record:

    • Your GP and specialist details

    • Your wishes about life-support and resuscitation in certain situations

    • Your preferences for palliative care and pain relief

    • Whether you wish to donate organs

    • Whether you want your body used for medical research or teaching.

    Using DYOdocs, you’ll be guided step-by-step to think through these issues and record your choices clearly.

  • Your directive works hand-in-hand with your enduring power of attorney (EPA) for personal care and welfare.

    • Your welfare attorney is the person who makes decisions if you can’t.

    • Your advance directive gives them clear guidance on what you would choose for yourself.

    This means:

    • Less uncertainty and stress for your loved ones

    • Fewer disagreements between family members

    • Decisions that better reflect your values and beliefs.

  • When your wishes are written down and easy to find:

    • You can relax, knowing you’ve done everything you reasonably can

    • Your family aren’t left to make impossible choices in a crisis

    • Your medical team can focus on providing care that aligns with your preferences.

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Step 3: Communication

  • The best advance health care directive is one that people actually know about.

    We encourage you to:

    • Share a copy with your welfare attorney, close family members, and GP

    • Tell key people where the original is kept

    • Include it as part of your wider estate planning folder (wills, EPAs, trust documents).

    That way, if something happens suddenly, your loved ones and doctors can quickly access your directive and follow your wishes.

  • DYOdocs lets you:

    • Work through clear, plain-language questions

    • Capture your wishes in a structured, lawyer-friendly format

    • Update your directive in future if your views or circumstances change.

    When you’re done, you can ask us to review your directive to make sure it fits properly with your will, EPAs, and any trust or asset planning you already have.

  • If you prefer, we can:

    • Talk with you about your values, beliefs, and goals

    • Draft a tailored advance health care directive

    • Make sure it works smoothly with your existing estate and trust documents

    • Guide you on who should receive copies and how to store it safely.

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Disclaimer: This page provides general information only and is not legal advice.
You should always seek professional legal advice about your own situation before making any decisions.