Rochester Health Care Directive Lawyer

Minnesota Living Will Attorney

A Health Care Directive – Living Will is a document that gives your loved ones and medical providers guidance to make medical and health care decisions for you, according to your wishes, when you are unable to do so.

A Living Will deals with decisions on whether to administer, withhold, or withdraw medical treatment, services, or procedures to maintain, diagnose, or treat an individual's physical condition when the individual is in a terminal condition. Decisions must be based on reasonable medical practice including (1) continuation of appropriate care to maintain comfort, hygiene, human dignity, and to alleviate pain; (2) oral administration of food and water to a patient who accepts it, except for clearly documented medical reasons

A Rochester Minnesota Estate Planning Attorney can help you draft a Living Will according to your wishes as part of the overall estate planning process.

Legal Requirements for a Living Will

To be valid, a Living Will must meet the following requirements:

• The declarant must be a competent adult;
• The Living Will must be signed by the declarant and by two witnesses or a notary public;
• The Living Will must state a preference regarding artificial administration of nutrition and hydration or give the decision to a proxy;
• The Living Will must conform to the statutory requirements.

The Living Will becomes effective when delivered to a physician or health care provider. The Living Will is ineffective if the patient is pregnant and it is possible that with continued treatment the fetus could develop to a live birth.

Revocation and Validity of a Living Will

A Living Will can be revoked at any time in any manner in whole or in part irrespective of the declarant’s physical or mental condition. The revocation becomes effective once it is communicated to the health care provider. It is important to note that a divorce decree automatically revokes any designation of the former spouse as a proxy to make health care decisions. Out-of-state Living Wills are valid in Minnesota as long as they substantially comply with Minnesota law.

Request a Free Consultation

If you have additional questions about Powers of Attorney in Minnesota, please contact the Dilaveri Law Firm today. We always offer free initial consultations to our clients. Call  507.206.6020 or complete our free case evaluation form.