Question 1

Is this really free, and is it actually Catholic?

Accepted Answer

Yes to both. The directive is completely free, no obligation, no credit card. And it is genuinely Catholic. It was authored by Laura K. Meier, Esq., a California estate planning attorney, in line with both the California Probate Code and the moral teaching of the Catholic Church. It has been reviewed and approved by the Diocese of Orange to ensure it complies with Catholic moral teaching. The standard hospital form and the California Probate Code form do not carry that approval.

Question 2

What does the directive include?

Accepted Answer

The Catholic Advance Health Care Directive plus a HIPAA authorization, in one document. You designate up to three healthcare agents and record your wishes on life-sustaining treatment, artificial nutrition and hydration, pain relief, organ donation, sacramental care, your parish contact, and Catholic funeral and burial preferences. Once you complete the guided form, you download a printable PDF, ready to sign with two qualified witnesses or have notarized per California law.

Question 3

Will a priest actually be called to my bedside?

Accepted Answer

That is the point. The directive includes an explicit, written request for sacramental care (the Anointing of the Sick, Confession if you are able, and Holy Communion as Viaticum) and instructs your healthcare agent and your providers to notify a Catholic priest. You provide your parish contact information so the call is actually placed when the moment comes. Without this request in writing, the call often is not made.

Question 4

What does it say about food and water?

Accepted Answer

Catholic moral teaching treats artificial nutrition and hydration as ordinary care that must continue in most cases. The directive records your wishes in that framework. As Laura puts it: we cannot create medical directives that result in euthanasia, whether through an intentional act or an omission. There is one important nuance: removing artificial nutrition is permissible if the underlying illness, not the withholding itself, is what causes death. The directive helps you express that distinction clearly so your agent and your physician are not guessing.

Question 5

What about pregnancy?

Accepted Answer

The directive includes a pregnancy provision that lets you express your desired outcome conditional on your Catholic beliefs, as applied by your trusted medical decision maker. The morally right course in a medical emergency during pregnancy is not always a bright-line case, and the Church recognizes the complexity. The directive does not impose a single answer; it gives you the space to write your conscience-formed wishes into your own document, in advance, instead of leaving them for a hospital to guess.

Question 6

What if my family disagrees about my care?

Accepted Answer

That is precisely the moment a written, signed directive is most valuable. You designate one healthcare agent, plus a second and third backup, so there is no ambiguity about who decides. You record your wishes on the questions families fight over: life support, food and water, end-of-life care, sacramental access. The Terri Schiavo case took fifteen years and tore a family apart in part because there was nothing in writing. The Catholic AHCD is your voice on paper, before the moment arrives.

Question 7

Is the directive valid outside California?

Accepted Answer

The current version, which is approved by the Diocese of Orange to comply with Catholic teaching, is California-specific and complies with the California Probate Code. State-by-state replication is in progress. If you live outside California, join the waitlist below and we will tell you the moment your state is ready.

Question 8

Do I need a lawyer, and how do I make sure it's followed?

Accepted Answer

The directive was written to be completed by Catholic families directly. You complete the guided form, download your personalized PDF, and sign per California law, either with two qualified adult witnesses or by notarization. We recommend you consult with your own attorney before signing. To make sure the directive is actually followed: give a signed copy to your healthcare agent and talk through it with them; give a copy to your primary care physician and ask that it be added to your medical record; keep one copy somewhere your family can find quickly. A directive that exists but cannot be located in a crisis is functionally invisible.

Question 9

How do I update or revoke the directive later?

Accepted Answer

At any time. You can replace this directive with a new one, or revoke it entirely, as your wishes, family situation, or health change. The most current signed and witnessed directive is the one that controls. Most families revisit it every few years, after a major life event, or after a change in their health. If you update or replace your directive, go back to every person and place you gave a copy to, your healthcare agent, your physician, your parish, your hospital file, and make sure each has the most current version. An outdated copy in someone's hands is worse than no copy at all.

Who makes medical decisions if you can’t?

Create your Catholic Health Care Directive.

A directive most families need in three moments.

For yourself

For an aging parent

For your child heading to college

Every decision, made the Catholic way.

Who speaks for you

Access to your records

Life-sustaining treatment

Food and water

A priest at the bedside

A Catholic funeral and burial

Four quick steps. Yours today.

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Answer the questions

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Authored by a Catholic estate planning attorney.

Laura K. Meier, Esq.

Your directive is one piece of a coordinated Catholic plan.

What Catholic families ask us first.

Join the waitlist and the Minute of Grace.

Speak for yourself, before you can’t.