Free Medical Power of Attorney Forms

From LoveToKnow Insurance

Of all the legal forms that people should consider obtaining before they become so seriously sick or injured that they can not make their own medical decisions, free medical power of attorney forms top the list.

Medical Release Forms: Fill In

What is Power of Attorney?

The legal term "power of attorney," also known as "POA," is a phrase that describes a "power" that you choose to grant an individual to make important decisions related to your personal matters when you become unable to do so yourself. Those matters could be related to financial issues, legal matters or medical needs.

When Power of Attorney is Enforced

One of the most important aspects of a free medical power of attorney form is how the decision is to be made that you are mentally incapable of making medical decisions for yourself. You can have your power of attorney form specify the parameters to be considered in deciding whether or not your are mentally capable of making decisions related to your medical care. Or, you can name a specific person who you believe would be able to make the determination. Your options here are unlimited - you can really choose anyone you want who you know you can trust. Some options include:

A close family member
Your family doctor
A trusted personal friend
A certain professional (psychologist or medical doctor)

Another option many people choose is to request that your mental incapacity is "confirmed" before power of attorney is enforced. In these cases the court system assigns a "capacity assessor" who is specifically trained to test and determine whether or not you are truly mentally incapacitated.

Power of Attorney Can Not Override Your Living Will

It's important to keep in mind that even though you assign a power of attorney, you can protect yourself from medical issues that you believe strongly in by also creating a living will that details your wishes. This also assists your selected "agent" when it comes to making medical decisions for you by providing them with some insight to what you probably would choose if you could make the decision yourself.

One of the most common issues covered in a living will is the Do Not Resuscitate Order (DNR), which is simply a request that medical personnel do not attempt CPR if your heart or breathing stops. The living will can also define when medical staff should stop attempts to keep you alive, in particular when you are in a "vegetative state."

Finding Free Medical Power of Attorney Forms

There are a number of excellent sources for these free medical POA forms online. At the following websites, you can print off and fill out these legal forms and provide them to your lawyer as part of your overall estate planning:

Expert Law, always an excellent source of free legal advice, offers a medical POA form written by Aaron Larson from his own law offices.
The Texas Medical Association offers a detailed and thorough medical POA form for free on their website. There is a link to print the page at the very bottom of the form.
The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services also provides a free form in PDF format. The header of this form is also filled with valuable facts and information about your rights when you use this form.
LA-Legal.com offers this Health Care Power of Attorney form for the State of Louisiana.
The Law Depot offers this useful tool that lets you fill out a form that details your "health directives," and then provides you with a customized form that outlines your specific wishes.
DocStoc.com, always a valuable source of free medical forms, offers a medical POA form that you can print and fill out by hand.

Using Free POA Forms

Whenever you decide to use a particular legal form you should have your own personal attorney review the document to make sure that it is legally sound, especially within the state where you reside. In some cases particular requests are not legally allowed in some states, so you need to be sure all of your bases are covered by having your lawyer look over your POA form.

Once you have one in hand, you can rest assured that should you ever become seriously disabled and unable to make good decisions for yourself, then someone who you trust will be able to do so for you.

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