• Appoint, set out your wishes, or both

  Choose to name someone to decide for you, to write down the care you want, or to do both in one document.

• Someone to speak for you

  Name the person, their address, telephone and relationship, and an alternate who acts if the first cannot or will not. The person is called an agent, a proxy or a surrogate, as your state calls them.

• How far their authority goes

  Choose between full authority to decide even against what you have written, following your wishes and deciding what they do not cover, or only carrying out what you have written. There is no default.

• Your wishes about care, condition by condition

  For each condition your state asks about, say whether you would want comfort care, life support or tube feeding, or none of these. A question you leave blank stays a line to complete.

• Your state's conditions

  Terminal condition, permanent unconsciousness or coma, a persistent vegetative state, an end-stage condition or an irreversible condition: the questions follow the state you choose.

• Pregnancy, contacts and special instructions

  Where your state asks, say whether your wishes are suspended during a pregnancy. List people your doctor should contact before vital treatment is stopped, and add any special instructions in your own words.

• Medical records

  Decide whether the person you appoint may see your medical records.

• Signing, with a notary or witnesses

  Choose a notary public or two witnesses and the document ends with the matching block. In California you can also say whether you are a patient in a skilled nursing facility.

• A lawyer reviews it before it is used

  Your answers are prepared into a draft and reviewed by a qualified lawyer, rather than handed back to you as a finished form.

A living will, also called a health care directive or advance directive, is a written statement of the medical care you would and would not want if you became too ill to decide or speak for yourself. A medical power of attorney appoints someone you trust to make those decisions for you. This builder can do either or both in one document.

It starts by asking what you want to include. If you appoint someone, it asks who they are, whether you want an alternate, whether they may see your medical records, and how far their authority goes. If you set out your wishes, it asks about the care you would want in conditions such as a terminal condition or permanent unconsciousness. Which conditions it asks about, and what the person you appoint is called, depend on your state.

These are medical and legal decisions that are yours alone, so nothing is suggested or filled in. A state's rules about the form, who may be appointed, witnesses and notaries differ, and a lawyer checks them before you sign. The draft says so rather than leaving you to assume it is complete.

Not sure? Talk to an attorney about your situation first.

These are separate documents, for different jobs.

• Medical power of attorneyName someone to make medical decisions if you can't.View document
• Healthcare directiveSet out your healthcare wishes and who can speak for you.View document
• Power of attorneyName someone you trust to handle your finances if you can't.View document
• Last will and testamentSet out who inherits and who carries out your wishes.View document

• Before an operation or a hospital stay
• After a new diagnosis
• When you want your family to know your wishes and who speaks for you
• When you move to a new state and want to check your document still fits

• Healthcare directiveSet out your healthcare wishes and who can speak for you.View document
• Medical records releaseAllow a named person to receive your medical records.View document
• Personal care profileShare your routines and care preferences with those caring for you.View document
• End-of-life planWrite down your wishes for your final arrangements.View document