Healthcare paperwork is full of similar-sounding names — Power of Attorney, advance directive, living will, healthcare proxy — and people constantly conflate them. They’re related but not the same, and knowing the difference helps you make sure nothing important is missing.
The three documents
- Healthcare Power of Attorney (or healthcare proxy). Names a *person* — an agent — to make medical decisions for you when you can’t. It’s about *who decides*.
- Living will. Records your *wishes* about specific end-of-life treatments, like life support. It’s about *what you want*.
- Advance directive. Often an umbrella term for documents that state your healthcare wishes in advance — in many states a single advance-directive form combines the proxy and the living will.
How they work together
The pieces complement each other. Your living will tells everyone what you’d want; your healthcare agent is the living person who interprets those wishes and handles the situations no document could predict. One says *what*, the other decides *who* — and together they cover far more than either alone. Our full guide on the healthcare Power of Attorney goes deeper on the agent’s role.
Don’t forget the financial side
All three of the above are about *healthcare*. A financial Power of Attorney is a separate document that handles money and property. Most adults need both a healthcare directive and a financial Power of Attorney — they cover different halves of life.
Terms and forms vary by state, so confirm what your state uses. Your state’s page points to the documents your state uses, and the plain-English glossary defines every term you’ll run into.
This article is plain-English education, not legal advice. Power of Attorney law varies by state, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. For guidance on your specific situation, talk with a licensed attorney in your state.