Medical Decisions for Gay Partners

I wanted to share a little information that might help, in case you ever find yourself in a medical emergency situation with your spouse. I'm not sure that this is available outside of California, but you can pick up the form at any Kaiser hospital. The form is called "Advance Health Care Directive" and it only needs to be signed by two witnesses. My partner and I had ours notarized, to play it safe. This form comes in a wallet size version as well, to tell paramedics who is in charge of your medical decisions if you were found unconscious. We made copies of the original and placed them with other family members as well, in case they make it to the hospital first. You can also designate a second person to make decisions on your behalf if one needs to be made immediately and you have not arrived yet.

Yes, it is a pain in the a** that we have to provide so much paperwork, but this might help. After 16 years together, we are willing to make a huge scene in the hospital if anyone even dares question one of us.

I hope this helps.
Tony