What is an Advance Directive? An Advance Directive is a legal document that lets you give instructions about the health care you do or do not want to receive in the future if you become incapable of making those decisions yourself. It doesn’t appoint anyone as your representative, it merely sets out your wishes for your health care. Advance directives, also sometimes (incorrectly) called “advanced directives” require very specific language in them. If you don’t get this language right, you might not have a valid Advance Directive.
In British Columbia, an Advance Directive is one part of planning for what might happen while you are still alive.
It is different from a Will, a Power of Attorney and a Representation Agreement. Each of these documents has a different job.
What does an Advance Directive do in BC?
An Advance Directive lets you make certain health care decisions in advance.
If you later become incapable of giving or refusing consent to health care, your Advance Directive can tell your health care provider what you have already decided.
For example, you may have strong wishes about particular medical treatments or circumstances in which you would or would not consent to treatment.
An Advance Directive gives you a way to put those decisions in writing while you are capable of making them.
When does an Advance Directive apply?
An Advance Directive matters when you are alive but incapable of making a particular health care decision yourself.
If you are capable of making the decision, you make it yourself. Your Advance Directive does not take that decision away from you.
This is an important distinction between an Advance Directive and a Will:
An Advance Directive deals with health care decisions while you are alive. A Will deals with your estate after you die.
Is an Advance Directive the same as a Representation Agreement?
No. These two documents do different things.
An Advance Directive lets you give health care instructions in advance. It doesn’t appoint anyone to help you if you can’t speak for yourself.
A Representation Agreement lets you appoint another person to make certain decisions for you if necessary.
Those are two different approaches: giving your own instructions in advance and choosing someone who can make decisions for you.
Depending on your circumstances and wishes, your estate and personal planning may include one or both documents.
Is an Advance Directive the same as a Power of Attorney?
No.
A Power of Attorney generally deals with your legal and financial affairs.
An Advance Directive deals with your health care instructions.
For example, if you become incapable, an attorney appointed under a Power of Attorney may be able to deal with your bank accounts, bills, taxes or property. That does not make your attorney your health care decision-maker.
This is one reason it is useful to consider your Power of Attorney, Representation Agreement and Advance Directive together rather than treating them as interchangeable documents.
What can you put in an Advance Directive?
An Advance Directive can contain instructions about health care that you consent to or refuse in particular circumstances.
The decisions you put into an Advance Directive should be clear enough that a health care provider can understand what you intended.
That makes the conversation behind the document important. You need to think about the kinds of health care decisions that matter to you and how you want those decisions handled if you cannot speak for yourself.
Why would someone make an Advance Directive?
People make Advance Directives because they want greater control over future health care decisions.
You may want to make your wishes clear to your family and health care providers. You may also have particular treatments, medical circumstances or personal values that are important to you.
Putting your instructions in writing can help others understand what you decided rather than leaving them to guess what you might have wanted.
How do you make an Advance Directive in BC?
You can make an Advance Directive in BC in one of three ways:
- use the free version published by the BC Government on its Advance Care Planning page
- use a form created by an online legal services provider
- hire a BC Notary to help you create and sign the form
If you decide to make the form yourself, you must follow the specific legal requirements governing Advance Directives. These requirements set out specific language that must be in an advance directive, and how the document needs to be signed.
Make sure to express your health care instructions clearly, so others will understand what you need.
A BC Notary can discuss how an Advance Directive fits into your personal planning and help you prepare the document.
An Advance Directive is only one part of personal and estate planning
An Advance Directive answers an important question:
What health care have I already decided I want or do not want if I cannot make that decision at the time?
But it does not answer every question that can arise if you become incapable.
Your planning may also need to answer:
- Who can manage my financial and legal affairs?
- Who can make health care or personal care decisions for me?
- What happens to my estate when I die?
- Who will carry out my wishes after my death?
That is why it is important to consider Advance Directives, Representation Agreements, Powers of Attorney and Wills together.
Watch: What is an Advance Directive in BC?
In this video, Linda Caisley, BC Notary Public, explains what an Advance Directive is and where it fits into estate and personal planning in British Columbia.
[EMBED ADVANCE DIRECTIVE VIDEO HERE]
Frequently asked questions
No. An Advance Directive deals with health care while you are alive. A Will deals with your estate after your death.
No. A Power of Attorney is used for legal and financial matters. It does not make your attorney your health care decision-maker.
Yes. You make your own health care decisions if you are capable. Your Advance Directive tells us your health care wishes if you are not capable.
No. People sometimes use the term “living will” when talking about written wishes for future health care. A living will usually just tells people that you do not wish to be kept alive by heroic measures or artificial means if you are truly at the end of your life. An advance directive is the term used in BC to set out any specific wishes for your health care, not simply the health care for end of life.
Related explanations
- What is a Will in BC?
- What is a Power of Attorney in BC?
- What is a Representation Agreement in BC?
- Estate Planning Resources in BC
Sources and further reading
For the legal rules governing Advance Directives in British Columbia, see the Health Care (Consent) and Care Facility (Admission) Act and information published by the Government of British Columbia.
Written by Linda Caisley, BC Notary Public
Published: October 2026
Last reviewed: October 2026
This information is about British Columbia and is provided for general educational purposes. It is not legal advice about your particular circumstances.