Some Details on Medical POAs / Advance Directives in Maryland

Introduction: Powers of Attorney Come in Different Forms

In other posts, we have touched on the fundaments of powers of attorney. We have noted, for example, that powers of attorney are legal arrangements which enable one person, an attorney in fact or agent, to make certain decisions on behalf of another person, the principal. We’ve also discussed some of the reasons why these arrangements might be beneficial. There are numerous potential benefits of powers of attorney, but these arrangements are most commonly used for finance related decisions. Under this scenario, the attorney in fact uses the authorities of the POA to execute contracts, oversee investment accounts, and so forth. POAs come in various forms. While financial POAs are quite common, POAs which relate to medical or healthcare decisions are also frequently seen. In Maryland, POAs which grant authority to make medical or healthcare decisions are referred to as “advance directives.”

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Advance Directives Can Be Highly Beneficial

Like finance related POAs, advance directives or medical POAs can also yield substantial benefits to those who invest in them. Advance directives are often called “living wills,” as they include a person’s current instructions with respect of his or her own future healthcare decisions. With an advance directive, the principal provides detailed instructions for all future healthcare decisions, including instructions related to life-sustaining treatments (in various circumstances). Advance directives can be achieved either via written agreements, or via oral communication. This differentiates advance directives from other powers of attorney, as written agreements are the only allowable route.

Having an agent – in advance directives, the agent is the “health care agent” – to assist with healthcare related decisions can be immensely helpful. Agent selection is obviously highly important, as there must be a level of trust between the agent and principal. The principal’s instructions can be as detailed as is needed. In some cases, principals may decide to grant independent decision making authority to agents, for whatever reason; this can end up being very wise, as medical and healthcare related decisions need high level competency and expertise.

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Responsibilities of Health Care Agents

The principal gives the agent the authority to carry out the instructions of the advance directive. If the agent accepts this role, then he or she is required to act in a manner consistent with effecting the instructions provided in the directive. Furthermore, Maryland law places certain responsibilities on health care agents which agents must abide. For example, Maryland law requires that health care agents take all relevant information into account when making certain critical healthcare decisions. Agents must not only straightforwardly follow instructions, they must also give weight to the principal’s preexisting preferences and values when making treatment decisions. Health care agents must properly take account of relevant information or else the agreement is violated. Maryland has placed what it sees as the necessary levels of protection onto these agreements, with the underlying goal of ensuring the wellbeing of principals.

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Advance Directives Must Follow Other Requirements

Along with all the requirements pertaining to health care agent conduct, advance directives must follow other requirements as well. There are separate requirements for written agreements versus oral communications. Like other POAs, the written agreements for advance directives must have witnesses, must be signed by competent persons (i.e. “capacity”), must be fully voluntarily entered, and so forth. The requirements for oral communication are similar, although only one independent witness is required for orally communicated advance directives (the other witness is the physician). Like other estate planning documents, advance directives which don’t correctly observe all formalities can be potentially challenged and potentially collapsed. This is why consultation with a Maryland expert is so important.

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Contact the Murphy Law Firm for More Information

To learn more about advance directives, powers of attorney, estate planning in general, or another specific topic, contact one of the estate planning attorneys at the Murphy Law Firm today by calling 240-219-5243.

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