An Oregon Advance Directive for Health Care (Advance Directive) is the document used in Oregon to name a health care representative to make health care decisions for us when we are unable to make or communicate such decisions for ourselves, give instructions to that person, and provide information about our life and values to help them make decisions we couldn’t foresee. The Advance Directive is a form created by the Oregon legislature and set out in the Oregon Revised Statutes that combines and replaces a medical power of attorney/power of attorney for health care and a living will.

An Advance Directive is a durable document, meaning it generally stays in effect until you die or revoke/replace it. That said, you can revoke it at any time as long as you are able to make and communicate decisions regardless of content and any time at all if the Advance Directive includes instructions to withhold or withdraw tube feeding or other life support.

At Willamette Elder Law, an attorney will help you select an appropriate health care representative and alternates and walk you through the process of providing instructions and information to ensure those representatives make the decisions you would have made if they need to act for you. Those conversations will include issues that are not explicitly included in the raw form and which are unfortunately skipped over by many attorneys who prepare Advance Directives.