No one likes to think about it, but serious accidents and illnesses happen every day. With only a few simple legal forms, you can put important medical and financial decisions in the hands of those you trust the most--while sparing your loved ones expensive, time-consuming, and public court actions.

Using easy-to-follow instructions, this book shows you how to plan for the future by preparing these official California documents:

• An Advance Health Care Directive, also called a "living will." It lets you state your wishes for health care if you become incapacitated and name a trusted person who will work with health care providers to be sure you get the kind of care you want.
• A Durable Power of Attorney for Finances to appoint the person of your choice to manage your finances for you if you no longer can.

This book also explains Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) forms, which alert emergency medical personnel not to administer extreme life-saving measures, and POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) forms.

With Downloadable Forms (Specific to California)--The forms in this completely updated 6th edition can be downloaded from Nolo.com. Also download a bonus guide on making final arrangements (details inside).