Links to Advance Directive Documents:

• State specific advance directives.

  • Visit the Advancing States website and select your state.

  • North Carolina's advance directives can be found on the NC Secretary of State website: Advance Healthcare Directives. 

  • Documents are free of charge and publicly available.

• Five Wishes document.

  • The Five Wishes document is a low cost option that may be utilized (in most states) in conjunction with, or as an alternative to, state specific directives. 

Booklets and Planners:

Note: These links are for view-only versions of the documents. To customize them for your own personal use, you are welcome to save a copy (File > Make a copy) or download as a Word file (File > Download) to edit as needed. 

• Emergency and End-of-Life Planner: To help you organize essential information across all areas of your planning.

• Comfort & Care Planning: Thoughtfully articulate your preferences for personal comfort and care during the end-of-life journey, exploring desired physical, emotional, and environmental comforts.

• Vigil & Farewell Wishes: Pre-plan the details of your vigil, funeral, memorial, or celebration of life, ensuring your final wishes are honored and reducing the burden on loved ones.

• Contemplative Reflection: Engage in deeper personal reflection and inner exploration to ensure your end-of-life choices truly align with your core values, beliefs, and desired legacy.

• Ethical Will & Legacy Document: Share your life’s wisdom, stories, and messages of love with family and friends, ensuring your values and personal history are preserved and passed on.

• Financial Peace of Mind: Gain a foundational understanding of key financial considerations related to end-of-life planning, including a basic overview of Wills, Trusts, and the Probate process.

Educational Presentations:

(I plan to create recorded versions of these presentations in the future.)

Note: Presentations are provided as read-only resources and cannot be downloaded or edited. 

• Life Saving, Sustaining, and Prolonging Measures: Define quality of life and understand clinical choices.

• Body Disposition Options: A Comprehensive Guide: Explore all of your options for body disposition. 

• North Carolina Advance Directives: Page by page guidance to help you complete your (North Carolina Specific!) advance directives.

Why this approach? 

Many people ask about "Five Wishes." While that is a beautiful document, I prefer the state directives for a couple of very practical reasons: Clarity in a Crisis and Expedited Completion. 

• Clarity in a Crisis: When medical professionals or your healthcare advocates are in an emergency room, they need to know your life-sustaining wishes immediately. State forms are designed for quick scanning by medical teams. By keeping your medical requests in these official documents, you ensure your care is efficient and your instructions are unmistakable. 

• Expedited Completion: If you’re like me, it’s easy to get stuck overthinking the deep questions of personal values and legacy, which can lead to procrastinating the entire process. By separating the legal essentials from the heart work, we remove the all-or-nothing pressure. This approach allows you to get the critical information into the right hands now, while leaving the deeper personal stories and values to be completed as you feel ready.

By saving your legacy for the companion booklets, you ensure your medical care is efficient and your personal legacy is deep, without one cluttering (or delaying!) the other. Please choose the document path that best suits your specific needs. 

*Note: All referenced booklets and presentations can be found under "Materials" above. 

Phase 1: Education and Preparation

• Consult: All provided booklets, particularly the Vigil & Farewell Wishes Booklet

  • While it is not necessary to complete the booklets in their entirety at this step, an initial review of them will help you begin to contemplate your end-of-life wishes. The Vigil & Farewell Wishes booklet will help you record details that will need to be transcribed to or referenced in your HCPOA document.

• View: Life Saving, Sustaining, and Prolonging Measures Presentation 

  • Define quality of life and understand clinical choices.

• View: Body Disposition Options: A Comprehensive Guide Presentation

  • Explore all of your options for body disposition. 

Phase 2: Legal Essentials

• View: North Carolina Advance Directives Presentation 

  • Page by page guidance to help you complete your (North Carolina Specific!) advance directives.

• Complete: Living Will 

• Complete: Healthcare Power of Attorney 

  • *Note: The NC HCPOA document accommodates body disposition. If you live in another state, or want even more added security, you may need to complete a Body Disposition Authorization (known by various names) and/or Appointment of Agent for Disposition of Remains.

• Complete: Advance Instruction for Mental Health Treatment (Optional)

• Sign, Witness, & Notarize Advance Directives

• Complete: HIPAA Authorization

  • While your Healthcare Power of Attorney gives someone the legal power to make decisions, a HIPAA authorization ensures they can actually see your medical records and talk to your doctors without legal delays. This allows for immediate access to information, whereas the HCPOA typically only becomes effective if you are unable to speak for yourself. It is an essential tool for anyone who wants seamless assistance from a trusted representative during any medical journey. 

  • A standard HIPAA authorization form can be found HERE. 

  • You will need to complete one form for each of your major medical providers. Alternatively, you may use universal verbiage in Section 2 (e.g., "All healthcare providers, hospitals, clinics, specialists, pharmacists, and medical facilities who have provided or are currently providing me with healthcare services, including but not limited to, {list of your specific medical providers}.")    

• Family Meetings (before, during, and after completing your documents!)

• Distribute Copies

• At this point your essential medical advance directives are complete, congratulations!

  • I HIGHLY RECOMMEND completing a Last Will and Testament and Durable Financial Power of Attorney document, incorporating trusts as needed for your personal circumstances. The Financial Peace of Mind Booklet will provide an overview of these documents and tools. They may be completed independently or with the help of a legal professional.  

Phase 3: The Deep Dive (Legacy & Peace of Mind)

• Complete: Vigil & Farewell Wishes Booklet

• Complete: Comfort & Care Booklet

• Complete: Contemplative Reflection Booklet

• Complete: Ethical Will Booklet

• Complete: Financial Peace of Mind Booklet

Phase 4: Organization

• Complete: Emergency & End-of-Life Planner

• Organize your documents using a binder or file system corresponding to each section in the Emergency and End-of-Life Planner.

Phase 5: Review

• Review your documents frequently and modify if needed. 

While these materials are designed to guide you independently, I know that this work can sometimes feel heavy or complex. If you find yourself wanting a partner to help you navigate the nuances, I am here for you. Should you need help clarifying your wishes, a gentle nudge to follow through on paperwork, or a guided walkthrough of any of the content, please reach out anytime. My goal is to provide personalized support, tailored entirely to your pace and needs, ensuring you feel completely confident and at peace with your comprehensive plan.

• Sessions are scheduled in 1-hour increments. 

• Reciprocity:

  • Virtual - $100 per hour

  • In-person - $100 per hour (2 hour minimum plus a modest mileage surcharge) 

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If you prefer complete one-on-one guided support, consider our Complete Integrated Planning package.