Three things you should do now to plan end-of-life care.

If you were nearing the end of your life, would you prefer to be at home or in a healthcare facility? Would you want to know or not know how much time you had left? Would you want to have a say in every medical decision or allow doctors to do what they thought was best?

The best time to answer these questions isn’t during a health crisis. It’s when you’re healthy and able to think clearly, says Silvia Perez Protto, MD, Cleveland Clinic’s Medical Director of End of Life Programs.

Everyone over age 18 should make sure their wishes are known and documented, she says. That includes doing three things:

1. Complete legal documents called “advance directives,” such as a health care power of attorney and a living will.

A health care power of attorney names a person who will make medical decisions for you when you can’t speak for yourself. This person could be anyone you trust, usually a spouse, family member or close friend. Their responsibility ends when you recover enough to make your own medical decisions again.

A living will explains the care you want if you can’t speak for yourself and are either terminally ill or permanently unconscious. For example, it can direct caregivers to use or not use a breathing machine or feeding tube to keep you alive.

Completing advance directives doesn’t mean you have a serious illness. It means you are prepared just in case, like having life insurance.

“Review the documents and revise them as needed every 10 years or whenever there is an important life event, such as a new health diagnosis, a death or a divorce,” says Dr. Perez Protto.

2. Talk to your loved ones about your wishes.

Most importantly, have a conversation with the person you named in your health care power of attorney. Give a copy of your advance directives to your family members and loved ones so they can follow your wishes.

It may be uncomfortable to talk about illness and dying, but if you don’t, others may be more uneasy if ever left to make decisions on your behalf.

“I tried to have the conversation with my mom years ago and I wasn’t sure what to ask her,” says Dr. Perez Protto. “To help get the conversation started, I recommend using resources at theconversationproject.org.”

3. Tell your doctor.

Give a copy of your advance directives to your physician to save in your medical record. “It’s important for patients to talk with their healthcare providers about their wishes and values,” says Dr. Perez Protto. “Your healthcare goals may change over time, so you may have multiple conversations.”

Some people may want to talk to their loved ones or doctor first, and then complete advance directives. The order does not matter, says Dr. Perez Protto, as long as you get started.

You can create advance directives without a lawyer, for free, and relatively easily.

To learn more or to download advance directives forms, visit clevelandclinic.org/advancedirectives.

Silvia Perez Protto, MD