Estate planning › Advance healthcare directive
California Probate Code §4673 requires an AHCD to be either notarized OR signed by two qualifying witnesses — and California's witness rules are strict enough that notarization is usually the cleaner path. This page covers planned signings: home visits, attorney offices, scheduled hospice or SNF appointments, and proactive estate-planning sessions. For an urgent hospital bedside signing today, see our hospital AHCD page. Same-day and after-hours across LA, Orange, and Ventura Counties.
Estate planning attorneys, hospital social workers & families: text us the principal's name, location, document type (AHCD/HIPAA/both), and whether the principal can hold a pen. We confirm receipt and schedule directly.
What we notarize
California recognizes several advance care documents. We notarize whatever your attorney, hospital social worker, or care planner provides — these are the ones we see most often.
Your attorney, hospital, or self-help service may include other supporting documents (out-of-hospital DNR, dementia provisions, religious directives). We adapt to whatever the package contains.
AHCD signing types
Most AHCD signings fall into one of three patterns. Here's what each requires, how long it takes, and what we look for.
You have a completed AHCD (statutory form or attorney-drafted) and you're at home, the attorney's office, or a planned signing location. The principal signs in front of the notary — no witnesses required when notarized.
Pairs an AHCD with a separate HIPAA authorization so the healthcare agent (and named family members) can receive protected health information from doctors and hospitals before the AHCD itself is triggered.
Urgent AHCD signing for a patient currently admitted to a hospital, hospice, or skilled nursing facility. Capacity, identification, and timing are the main considerations — we are experienced with all three.
AHCD signing FAQ
Under California Probate Code §4673, an AHCD is valid if it is either notarized OR signed by two qualifying witnesses. Either method makes the document legally binding. Many hospitals and physicians prefer notarized AHCDs because they remove any ambiguity about identity and capacity, but the witnessed route is equally valid under California law.
California has strict rules: a witness must be an adult, cannot be the person's healthcare agent, cannot be the person's healthcare provider or an employee of the provider, and cannot be an operator/employee of the residential care facility where the person lives. If the person lives in a skilled nursing facility, one of the witnesses must be a patient advocate or ombudsman. These rules make notarization the easier path for many patients.
An Advance Healthcare Directive is the California document that names a healthcare agent (durable power of attorney for healthcare) AND records your treatment wishes — it replaces the older "living will" terminology. A POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) is a separate medical order signed by a doctor for seriously ill patients; it is not notarized and follows different procedures. We notarize AHCDs; POLST forms are physician-signed only.
Yes — this is one of our most common requests. We routinely sign AHCDs bedside at hospitals, hospices, and skilled nursing facilities across Los Angeles. The principal must be alert, aware of what they are signing, and able to communicate willingness. We screen for capacity on arrival and document the signing carefully so the AHCD will hold up to medical and family scrutiny.
California law requires a current, unexpired government-issued photo ID — driver license, state ID, U.S. passport, or foreign passport with photo. For bedside signings where the principal has no ID, two credible witnesses (with their own valid IDs, who personally know the principal) can identify them under oath. The healthcare agent named in the AHCD cannot be a credible witness.
Yes, but the agent should not coach, prompt, or pressure the principal. The notary must independently verify that the principal understands what they are signing and is acting voluntarily. If we observe coercion or capacity concerns, we will decline the signing — this protects the principal and protects the AHCD from being challenged later.
No — we are notaries and signing-services agents, not attorneys or healthcare providers. We cannot draft your AHCD, choose your healthcare agent, decide treatment preferences, or explain medical or legal effect. We notarize an AHCD that you, your attorney, or a healthcare provider has already prepared. California's official statutory AHCD form is free and available from the California Attorney General's office.
Schedule a signing
Text us the principal's name, location, document type, and whether the principal can hold a pen — we confirm same-day in most cases.