Personal Directive

What Is a Personal Directive?

A Personal Directive — sometimes called an Advance Directive, Living Will, or Healthcare Proxy — is a legal document governed in Nova Scotia by the Personal Directives Act. It allows you to appoint a Delegate to make personal and healthcare decisions on your behalf if you become mentally incapable of making those decisions yourself.

It can also include written instructions about the kind of care you want — or do not want — making your wishes known to both your Delegate and your healthcare providers.

Why a Personal Directive Is Essential

Without a Personal Directive, no one — not your spouse, not your adult children — has automatic legal authority to make healthcare decisions for you in Nova Scotia. If you become incapacitated without one, healthcare providers must rely on the next-of-kin hierarchy set out in the Act to identify a substitute decision-maker. This process can be slow, contested, and deeply stressful for your family at an already difficult time.

A Personal Directive removes the uncertainty. Your Delegate has clear legal authority to act, and your healthcare providers know who to turn to.

What Your Delegate Can Decide

Unless you restrict their authority, your Delegate can make decisions about:

• Medical treatment — including consent to or refusal of procedures and medications
• Surgical interventions
• Life-sustaining treatment and end-of-life care
• Placement in a care facility or hospital
• Participation in medical research or clinical trials
• Personal care matters such as diet, clothing, and daily routines

Your Delegate cannot make decisions about your finances — that is the role of your Attorney under a Power of Attorney.

Including Your Own Instructions

A Personal Directive can do more than simply name a Delegate. You can use it to record specific instructions about your values, beliefs, and wishes — for example, whether you want aggressive life-sustaining treatment if there is no reasonable prospect of recovery, your preferences regarding organ donation, or where you would like to receive care.

These instructions guide your Delegate and give your healthcare providers a clearer picture of what you would choose for yourself. They are particularly valuable in situations where your Delegate faces a difficult or ambiguous decision.

Choosing Your Delegate

Your Delegate must be an adult (19 or older in Nova Scotia) who is mentally capable, and must not be a paid caregiver unless they are also a close family member. You should choose someone who:

• Knows your values and wishes well
• Can advocate clearly and calmly on your behalf under pressure
• Will respect your wishes even if they personally disagree
• Is available and able to act quickly if needed

You can name an alternate Delegate in case your first choice is unable or unwilling to serve. This is strongly recommended.

Capacity and When the Directive Takes Effect

Your Personal Directive only takes effect when a physician or other qualified assessor determines that you lack the capacity to make the relevant decision yourself. While you have capacity, you make your own decisions — your Delegate has no authority to override you.

Like a Power of Attorney, a Personal Directive must be signed while you still have mental capacity. It cannot be granted retroactively.

Reviewing and Updating Your Directive

A Personal Directive should be reviewed whenever your circumstances change significantly — a new relationship, the death or incapacity of your named Delegate, a serious illness, or a change in your healthcare wishes. Annual updates are included at no charge through this service.

The Three Documents You Need

A Personal Directive covers healthcare decisions during incapacity. An Enduring Power of Attorney covers financial decisions during incapacity. A Legal Will covers what happens to your estate after death. Each document addresses a different situation — and together they give you and your family complete protection. All three are included in the standard package.