What if I Change My Mind?
Your personal circumstances change over time. As long as you are capable, you can change or cancel (revoke) your advance care plan at any time. This includes representation agreements and advance directives.
It is important to regularly review (at least yearly) and make changes to your advance care plan when you believe it is necessary. During a review, ask your Representative(s) or possible Temporary Substitute Decision Makers if they are still willing and able to make health care treatment decisions for you. Review the wishes you wrote in your advance care plan, including any specific instructions you wrote in your representation agreement or advance directive.
Before changing or cancelling your advance care plan, be sure you have up-to-date knowledge about your current health condition and any new health care treatments available to you.
The instructions below tell you what to do if you want to change and update, or cancel your advance care plan, including your representation agreement or advance directive if you made them.
Changes to your advance care plan summary, Temporary Substitute Decision Maker contact list and/or beliefs, values and wishes for health care, including life-prolonging medical interventions:
Destroy the old pages and fill out new ones. Be sure to sign and date your new pages where required.
Changes to your representation agreement (section 9) and/or advance directive.
You have two options:
- Make the changes directly in your existing representation agreement or advance directive and then sign and date them in front of witnesses in the same manner as you did the originals, or
- Create a new representation agreement or advance directive to replace the old ones and cancel your old representation agreement or old advance directive
Cancelling an existing representation agreement or advance directive
To cancel (revoke) an existing representation agreement or advance directive you must:
- Destroy the original or make another document and express your intention to cancel the old one; and
- Give a written notice of the cancellation (revocation) to the person named as your representative, including any alternate representative or monitor.
Notification of changes
After changing or cancelling your advance care plan, you should:
- Inform any family, friends and health care providers you have changed or cancelled your advance care plan, including changes to your representation agreement or advance directive if you completed the forms.
- Ask your family, friends, representative (if you have one), and health care providers to give you back the old copies of your advance care plan, including copies of your old representation agreement and advance directive if relevant, so you can destroy them.
- Provide copies of your newly changed advance care plan, including representation agreement and advance directive (if you completed them), to your close family or friend, and health care provider(s).
- It is important to ensure that your physician and other health care providers are aware of your most up-to-date wishes and instructions about your care. Please ensure that if you update your advance care plan, including your representation agreement or advance directive, that you advise all relevant health care providers. Be sure to ask them to review and update or cancel as appropriate any medical orders that no longer apply.
Learn More About Important Milestones for Reviewing Your Plan
Step 1: Think
Step 2: Learn
Step 3: Decide
Step 4: Talk
Step 5: Record