New provincial legislation that came into effect Sept. 1 means B.C. residents can now make important decisions regarding their future health care, without the added complication of needing a lawyer.
While the new laws guiding advance health care directives mean anyone in B.C. can make their wishes legally binding, should they later be unable to speak for themselves, out-of-province paperwork might not have the same effect.
"You can download an advance directive from Pennsylvania, but it won't be treated as an advance directive here in B.C.," said Gibsons notary public Sam Simpson. "It would only be treated as a health directive or a living will."
The complication rests in the province's decision to use the common language of advance directive for a law that is unique to British Columbia.
"If you've done a living will in Alberta and you move here, we will recognize it. But the fact of the matter is that's only a wish list," Simpson explained.
Nevertheless, the legislation fills a need in provincial health care. Before the new law, residents had to obtain the services of a lawyer or notary public to create a document that expressed their health care concerns.
Now only two people are required to witness the signature needed to make the advance directive legally binding.
Previous attempts to marry health care wishes with financial decisions made by power of attorney agreements were unpopular, Simpson noted, as instances where a person might purchase a home could have made the documents public.
The change in legislation was born of a desire to give people more control over their health care, said Ministry of Health spokesman Ryan Jabs.
Jabs said the hope is to make it easier for residents in the province to ensure their wishes are known should any complications arise.
He added that whether or not the province would honour advance directives from other regions would depend on the information contained in them.
"This was developed with a lot of flexibility," he said. "The health care provider plus the substitute decision maker would honour as much as possible that advanced directive if it wasn't officially similar."
It is recommended that the forms be treated similarly to a will and updated every two to three years to ensure their accuracy.
While the legislation is already in place, official forms that residents will be able to fill out themselves are expected sometime this winter.
