PEI Advance Directive Kit — Navigate the Two-Statute Framework

Two Statutes, Zero Instructions

Prince Edward Island is the only province in Canada where advance care planning splits across two entirely separate statutes. A Health Care Directive under the Consent to Treatment and Health Care Directives Act covers medical decisions — treatment consent, end-of-life care, organ donation. A Personal Directive under the Powers of Attorney and Personal Directives Act — which came into force on November 1, 2025 — handles non-healthcare personal care: housing, nutrition, clothing, social association. And financial affairs require a third document altogether, an Enduring Power of Attorney.

The government provides a statutory Health Care Directive form. It's a blank template with no instructions. It doesn't explain who can witness what, doesn't mention that your named Proxy must physically sign the document to accept the role, and doesn't tell you how your written wishes translate into the R/M/C Goals of Care designations that Health PEI staff actually use at the bedside. Most people don't learn about the mandatory acceptance signature until a crisis reveals their directive has no legal effect.

The Two-Statute Navigation System

The Prince Edward Island Advance Directive & Living Will Kit is built around one structural problem: PEI splits personal autonomy across two laws, three document types, and three different decision-maker titles (Proxy, Agent, Attorney) — and no government resource explains how they fit together. This kit maps the entire system and walks you through each document in the correct order, using the exact terminology that Health PEI clinicians and the courts recognize.

It bridges the gap between the legal framework and the clinical reality — from signing a directive at your kitchen table to having your wishes translated into active medical orders during a hospital admission.

What's Inside the Kit

• Complete advance directive guide (guide.pdf) — 14 chapters covering PEI's two-statute framework, step-by-step drafting instructions for your Health Care Directive, the 2025 Personal Directive rules, proxy appointment and acceptance procedures, Goals of Care coordination, organ donation registration, document storage, statutory hierarchy, capacity assessments, revoking and updating directives, and a caregiver emergency roadmap
• Goals of Care Translation Worksheet (goals-of-care-translation-worksheet.pdf) — maps your personal values and treatment preferences to the R (Resuscitation), M (Medical Care), and C (Comfort Care) designations that Health PEI physicians write on the clinical order form, so your directive uses language the medical team can act on without interpretation
• Proxy Appointment & Acceptance Checklist (proxy-appointment-acceptance-checklist.pdf) — step-by-step execution list covering who can serve, the mandatory acceptance signature, and what to do if your first-choice Proxy declines
• Signing and Witnessing Checklist (signing-witnessing-checklist.pdf) — print-and-bring signing-day sheet for the maker, any person signing on their behalf, and the witness
• Witness Eligibility Decision Tree (witness-eligibility-decision-tree.pdf) — determines when a witness is required (only when someone else signs on your behalf), who qualifies, and who is barred by statute
• Doctor Conversation Guide (doctor-conversation-guide.pdf) — scripts and a fill-in appointment card for getting the directive scanned into the Health PEI EMR and a Goals of Care order written
• Storage and Distribution Log (storage-distribution-log.pdf) — where each original lives and who received a copy, because PEI has no provincial registry
• Organ Donation Registration Walkthrough (organ-donation-registration-walkthrough.pdf) — covers all three PEI pathways: health card sticker, driver's licence heart symbol, and written directive language, because PEI has no automated digital registry and missing one pathway can leave your wishes undiscovered in an emergency
• Coordination Checklist (coordination-checklist.pdf) — confirms the Health Care Directive, Personal Directive, and Enduring Power of Attorney name compatible people and have been signed
• Revocation and Update Checklist (revocation-update-checklist.pdf) — destroy-and-replace steps plus a notification log when you sign a new directive
• Caregiver Emergency Roadmap (caregiver-emergency-roadmap.pdf) — what to do and who to call in the first 48 hours of a medical crisis, including how to present a Health Care Directive to hospital staff and how to request a Goals of Care discussion
• Forms, Fees & Deadlines Reference — every form, filing fee, and processing timeline referenced in the guide, collected in Chapter 14
• Quick-start checklist (checklist.pdf) — a prioritized 20-item action list covering the full planning process from choosing a Proxy through distributing your completed documents

Who This Kit Is For

• Adult children of aging parents — your parent is transitioning to a community care home or nursing facility, and admission requires a completed Health Care Directive, but you don't know where to start with PEI's two-statute system
• Named Proxies who haven't formally accepted — someone named you in their Health Care Directive, but you never signed the acceptance. Under PEI law, the appointment is invalid — and you won't find that out until a crisis at the QEH or PCH
• Out-of-province family members — you grew up on the Island but now live in Ontario or out west, and you need to help your parent complete PEI-specific documents before capacity is lost, using rules that don't match the province you live in now
• Rural families in Kings or Prince County — getting to a Charlottetown law office isn't practical, and you need a resource you can work through at home without paying estate-planning fees
• Seniors on fixed income — you want your advance care planning done properly without paying a private lawyer, and you've already discovered that the free government form gives you a blank template with no instructions

Why Not Use the Free Government Forms?

The PEI statutory Health Care Directive form is free to download from the government website. Community Legal Information (CLIA PEI) publishes a plain-language booklet. The Health PEI ACP division offers an interactive online workbook. All three are legitimate starting points — but they all stop short of what families actually need.

The government form doesn't explain the witnessing rules, the mandatory Proxy acceptance signature, or how to write treatment instructions that translate into Goals of Care designations. The Health PEI workbook deletes your progress after 30 days and doesn't cover the legal differences between the Consent to Treatment Act and the new Personal Directives Act. The CLIA booklets split the information across multiple separate publications, so you're cross-referencing three pamphlets to answer one question.

National online platforms like Willful and LegalWills.ca offer automated document assembly, but they use generic terms that miss PEI's specific "Proxy" terminology, its unusual no-witness-required rule for self-signed directives, and the November 2025 statutory changes. Dying with Dignity Canada's PEI kit has clear signature blocks but doesn't incorporate the new Personal Directive rules and focuses narrowly on end-of-life rather than the full incapacity planning system.

Local law firms provide tailored advice — but at $1,500 to $5,000 for estate planning services, and with limited appointment availability on the Island. This kit gives you the structured, step-by-step framework to organize your planning before you ever need a lawyer, or to complete it entirely on your own if your situation is straightforward.

Satisfaction Guarantee

If the kit doesn't give you a clear, actionable path to completing your advance care planning under PEI law, email us and we'll refund you — no questions asked.

Get Started

Download the free quick-start checklist to see the full scope of what PEI advance care planning involves. When you're ready for the complete guide — with clinical Goals of Care worksheets, proxy acceptance checklists, organ donation walkthroughs, and the full two-statute navigation system — get the Prince Edward Island Advance Directive & Living Will Kit for .