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Advance Health Care DirectivesAdvance Health Care Directives

I've counseled thousands of clients about the need for advance directives as an integral, critical component of an estate plan. Advance directives can be the most important document a client signs. If difficult health care decisions are to be made, nothing can be more critical. In addition to addressing the most fundamental questions about life-sustaining treatment, advance directives are living,

Michael Gilfix

May 1, 2010

10 Min Read
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Michael Gilfix

I've counseled thousands of clients about the need for advance directives as an integral, critical component of an estate plan. Advance directives can be the most important document a client signs. If difficult health care decisions are to be made, nothing can be more critical. In addition to addressing the most fundamental questions about life-sustaining treatment, advance directives are living, breathing documents that give our clients an opportunity to express themselves creatively.

I've represented individuals and families in a number of “right to die” court cases,1 I've served on ethics committees and represented hospitals and nursing homes in health care decision-making matters. But every time I think I've seen it all,...

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About the Author

Michael Gilfix

Gilfix & La Poll Associates, LLP

Michael Gilfix is a nationally known authority in the field of law, aging and estate planning. A 1973 graduate of Stanford Law School, he is a Fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), a co-founder of NAELA, and a Certified Legal Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law. Mr. Gilfix regularly addresses professional audiences, including attorneys, physicians, certified public accountants, and financial planners, nationally as well as locally.
An entrepreneur in the legal field, Mr. Gilfix created the first legal aid program for elders in 1973. He served as Executive Director of that program, Senior Adults Legal Assistance (SALA) of Santa Clara County, for ten years. In 1983 he created the law firm that is today known as Gilfix & La Poll Associates LLP . 

Mr. Gilfix is a California legal advisor to Partnership For Caring, the national organization devoted to rights of individuals to make their own health care decisions. 
A highly respected practitioner and a prolific author, Mr. Gilfix is co-author of Tax, Estate & Financial Planning for the Elderly: Forms and Practice (Matthew Bender) and is the principal author of Medi-Cal and Asset Preservation, a book- length set of materials for practicing attorneys. He regularly contributes to a wide variety of legal journals such as Trusts and Estates Magazine, where his writings have discussed the role of personal values in estate planning, life care communities, and asset preservation planning.