Power of attorney guide
Medical Power of Attorney
A medical power of attorney names a person (your health care agent) to make treatment decisions when you are unable to make them yourself. It does not give anyone authority over your money, and it does not take effect while you can still speak for yourself. States call it a health care proxy, a health care power of attorney, a designation of health care surrogate or an advance directive; the signing rules differ more than the names do.
Also called: health care power of attorney, health care proxy, durable power of attorney for health care, designation of health care surrogate.
What the agent can decide
Consent to or refuse treatment, choose doctors and facilities, see your medical records, and carry out the wishes you wrote down. Most forms let you limit that authority, for example, to follow a living will on life support, and most let you name an alternate agent in case the first cannot serve.
A medical power of attorney covers decisions; a living will covers instructions. The living will says what you want; the agent is the person who makes sure it happens, and who decides the questions the living will did not anticipate. Many states combine both in a single advance directive form.
When it takes effect
A medical power of attorney is springing by nature: the agent's authority starts when a physician determines that you cannot make or communicate your own decisions. Until then your own choices control, and you can revoke the document at any time, orally or in writing.
Because it only starts on incapacity, hospitals look closely at the signing formalities. A form signed without the witnesses its state requires may be set aside in favor of the state's default surrogate list (usually spouse, then adult children), which may not be the person you would have chosen.
Witnesses, notary, or both
Health care documents are more often witnessed than notarized. New York's health care proxy, Florida's designation of health care surrogate, Georgia's advance directive and Pennsylvania's health care power of attorney each need two witnesses and no notary. Texas, California, Ohio, Tennessee, Nevada and Oregon let you choose between two witnesses and a notary. North Carolina and South Carolina require both.
Witness restrictions are strict: the agent, the attending physician, employees of the treating facility and, in many states, relatives and heirs cannot witness. When a state offers the notary option, taking it avoids the witness-eligibility problem entirely and gives the hospital a certificate it can verify.
Pairing it with a financial power of attorney
A medical power of attorney does not let the agent pay the hospital bill, deal with insurance, or sign a nursing-home admission contract that commits your assets. Those need a durable financial power of attorney. The two documents can name the same person or different people; what matters is that both exist and that the agents know about each other.
Medical power of attorney: rules by state
- Texas
- California
- Florida
- New York
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- Washington, D.C.
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Common questions
- Does a medical power of attorney need to be notarized?
- It depends on the state. Several states require two witnesses and no notary; many allow either two witnesses or a notary; a few require both. The state's statutory form shows the signature block it expects. See the state pages on this site for the rule where you live.
- What is the difference between a medical power of attorney and a living will?
- A living will states your treatment wishes in advance. A medical power of attorney names a person to make decisions. Most people sign both, and many states combine them in one advance directive form.
- Can my agent override my living will?
- Not in most states. The agent must follow your written instructions where they apply and decide in your best interest where they do not. Some forms let you expressly give the agent discretion to deviate; read the form before signing.
- Can a medical power of attorney be notarized online?
- Yes, in states where a notary is an accepted way to execute it. The witnesses, where required, can join the same video session. Hospitals in your state accept the notarized document the same way they accept one signed in person.
Notarize a power of attorney online
A medical power of attorney follows your state's signing rules: notary in most states, witnesses in some. Upload the document, verify your ID, and sign on video with a commissioned online notary in about 15 minutes. Witnesses, where your state requires them, can join the same session.
Related types
Durable power of attorney
Stays in force if you later lose capacity. The standard choice for long-term planning.
Springing power of attorney
Takes effect only when a stated event happens: usually a doctor's finding of incapacity.
Financial power of attorney
Banking, bills, investments, taxes and property. Usually durable; usually on the state's statutory form.
All types of power of attorney and the state-by-state table →
General information about how powers of attorney are signed, not legal advice. Execution rules are set by each state’s statute and change; the sources on each state page link to the current text. Whether a particular bank, recorder, agency or title company accepts a document is its own decision. Confirm with the receiving party before signing. Rush Notary’s notaries are commissioned online notaries public in Florida who notarize for signers in every state under Florida’s remote online notarization law; see the online notarization requirements for your state.