It's important to start advance care planning early to give your loved ones guidance and reassurance if they need to make decisions for you in an emergency. Advance care planning includes having meaningful conversations with loved ones and completing legal documents, known as advance directives, to formalize your wishes in case you become seriously ill or unable to communicate them.
An advance directive is a legal document that provides instructions for medical care and only goes into effect if you cannot communicate. It allows you to name one or more persons as health care agents or proxies to make decisions based on your wishes. Some advance directives include a “living will” section addressing your preferences for artificial life-prolonging procedures and treatments in the event of serious or critical illness. At Inova, we encourage all adults to plan for their health care future by creating an advance directive. You can choose to complete the entire document or only the sections that are most relevant to you.
In Virginia, an advance directive must be in writing and witnessed by two adults. The witnesses can include anyone over 18, including a blood relative or a healthcare provider. Notarization is not required for the advance directive to be valid in Virginia. While involving an attorney is optional, it is not necessary.
If you don't have an advance directive in Virginia and cannot make healthcare decisions for yourself, the law specifies who will be authorized to make decisions on your behalf, potentially leading to conflicts if multiple people are involved. To avoid this, it's important to discuss your healthcare wishes and values with your chosen agents before any healthcare emergencies occur and to designate a healthcare agent or agents in advance.
Under the Health Care Decisions Act, individuals with a terminal condition who have not created an advance directive can make an oral advance directive in the presence of witnesses. All other directives must be in writing.
Virginia patients with a mental health treatment history should complete the general advance directive AND a Mental Health supplement form. Virginia patients who may be pregnant at the time of their treatment may wish to complete this advance directive form, which includes an optional “life prolonging procedures during pregnancy” provision.
Remember, your directives are in your hands. They remain valid until you decide to cancel them. You can modify or revoke your entire advance directive at any time. Any changes you make must be initialed and signed by two witnesses. To cancel the advance directive, simply write "revoked" or "void," then sign and date the change. After this, submit the updated advance directive to your healthcare providers, including Inova. Your healthcare team will follow the directive with the most recent date. Consider your advance directives as living documents that you review at least once yearly and update if a significant life event occurs, such as retirement, moving out of state, or a substantial change in health.
Inova Health System accepts all advance care planning documents as long as they are valid in the state where they were created.
Inova’s advance directive form for Virginia residents is free, easy to complete and available for download in multiple languages:
Download the Standard Advance Directive Form:
Supplemental forms:
Download a workbook to help you document what is important to you
