Free Advance Directive Forms

An Advance Medical Directive is a legal document a competent adult uses to set a medical treatment plan in certain circumstances [1].

Other names for an Advance Directive include:

• Advance Health Care Directive
• Advance Medical Directive
• Health Care Directive (Healthcare Advance Directive or Health Care Advance Directive)
• Advance Decision

An Advance Directive also outlines the medical care treatment preferences and assigns an agent to make healthcare decisions if you become unable to. You assign this agent (also known as health care proxy or health care surrogate) when you are creating your document.

What Is the Purpose of an Advance Directive?

The purpose of advance care planning is to give the person who signs it (the principal) the authority to express their health care wishes and choose medical and life-sustaining treatments they would like to receive.

Medical professionals and your agent work together to address your life care wishes.

This comes into effect only when the principal becomes unable to communicate, such as in an end-of-life situation. If you do not self-select an agent ahead of time, your spouse, adult child, another blood relative, or a court-appointed guardian may decide treatment options for you.

An Advance Health Care Directive is a combination of legal documents. In the past, it was common for someone to have a Living Will, a Medical POA, or one of each [2].

These are the different parts that should be included within the Advance Directive:

• Living Will: This notifies your family and healthcare providers of your preference of various kinds of treatment or operations you would accept or refuse if you are unable to communicate or are deemed an incapacitated person.
• Medical Power of Attorney: It assigns the person of your choice to be responsible for making decisions about the medical type of care you received. This person is usually a family member or friend.

Follow this step-by-step guide on how to write your Advance Directive. This way, you know exactly what to include.

1. Name and Medical POA: Fill in your name to declare the Directive that you are of legal age and a competent adult, and assign your health care agent. Potential agents can include a spouse, adult child, a relative or close friend or a lawyer. Include any limitations your MPOA has on medical and life decisions.
2. Alternate Agents: Select up to 3 substitute health care agents. Include their addresses and phone numbers, as well as their limitations.
3. Expiration date: Declare you understand the powers of the Power of Attorney continue indefinitely (Durable Power of Attorney) or until the day you decide. Choose an expiry day that the Power of Attorney will expire if you prefer this option
4. Original and copies of the MPOA: Fill in who has your document, as well as the contact information. Include the same information for any copies.
5. Living Will: Choose to declare the medical treatment and life-sustaining procedures you would or would not receive in an end-of-life situation. Include any other specific health care instructions if you wish.
6. Witness signatures: Include the declaration, contact information and signatures of your witnesses. This includes your signature as well.
7. Notarization: If you want to include a notary public as a witness in your Advance Directive, write a declaration for them to sign.
8. Distribute MPOA: Your health care agent(s) and health care professionals should have copies of your MPOA. Any healthcare facilities that may provide you with medical care should also have these healthcare instructions.

Take advantage of our Advance Directive template to make this process much simpler.

Advance Directive Decisions

When you make an Advance Directive, it is important to think about your choices and medical preferences, such as desires for emergency care, do-not-resuscitate orders (DNR), blood transfusions, comfort care, organ and tissue donation, and more.

What does Advance Directive mean for you?

If you are drafting an Advance Directive because you want to have control when you are unable to communicate, your healthcare and treatment decisions could come into effect during one of these medical situations [3]:

• Terminal illness: You have an end-stage condition or incurable illness.
• Vegetative state: You are not conscious and there is little hope for improvement.

Depending on the state you live in, signing an Advance Directive could have fewer or more requirements.

Before you write yours, read your state's law and requirements below.

Before you write a legal form or document, it is always a good idea to see a sample.

Reviewing what an example of an Advance Directive is will help you write your document. It will:

• Help you know what to include
• How to outline your document
• Ensure you don’t make any mistakes

Look at our example template below:

Some medical documents become part of the process of writing your Advance Directive. Others are similar and can help you or a loved one in an identical situation.

Have a look at the documents below:

POA: A document that assigns the responsibility of managing your possessions when you are unable to do so. Child Medical Consent: Also known as Permission to Treat, authorizes non-parents to make medical decisions for someone else’s child. DNR: An order for medical staff not to intervene with life-saving treatment. Last Will: A document that states what happens to your property after you pass away. You can find templates for all of these legal forms on our website.

Sources:

[1] Advance Care Planning: Advance Directives for Health Care. NIH.

[2] Advance Directives. John Hopkins Medicine.

[3] Living wills and advance directives for medical decisions. Mayo Clinic.

[4] Consumer Pamphlet: Florida Power of Attorney. The Florida Bar.