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Advance Directive for Health Care Form - Minnesota
A Minnesota Advance Directive for Health Care ensures that an individual's wishes regarding health care are carried out even in situations when they are unable to make them known due to a terminal illness or being unconscious or too ill to communicate. There is a difference between this form and a Living Will in Minnesota. A Living Will is a part of the advance health care directive paperwork that covers end-of-life treatment and takes effect only in the event of a terminal illness.
Make your own Advance Directive with our form builder or download a pre-made template through the link below.
Advance care planning involves learning about the types of decisions that might need to be made, considering and adjusting those decisions ahead of time, and then letting others - both the individual's family and their health care providers - know about their medical treatment preferences.
To be legally sufficient in the state of Minnesota, an Advance Directive must be signed, dated and witnessed by two (2) individuals or verified by a notary public.
What Is a Minnesota Advance Directive?
An Advance Directive is a legal document by which an individual appoints a proxy to make health care decisions for when they are no longer able to and to administer or withhold treatment and procedures based on their previously stated wishes. The document includes two separate forms:
- A Living Will (a written statement listing decisions about life-sustaining procedures in the event of a terminal condition);
- A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care (a document appointing an attorney-in-fact to make medical decisions for the individual).
The attorney-in-fact should meet the following criteria:
- The health care proxy - or agent - must meet the state's legal requirements.
- The individual's doctor or a member of their medical care team may not be selected as a proxy.
- The elected individual should be trusted to be the patient's advocate in any disagreements about their care.
How to Write an Advance Directive in Minnesota?
- Decide on whether you want to include a Living Will in your Advance Health Care instructions.
- If you decided to include a Living Will be specific about such things as CPR, breathing machines, antibiotics, kidney dialysis, tube-feeding, and certain surgical procedures that you are willing to authorize.
- Discuss your decisions with your partner or spouse, your doctor, and your attorney.
- Elect a decision-maker - a health care proxy or agent. Choose someone you believe will be able to follow your wishes whatever those may be. This will help ensure that your wishes are carried out correctly and in full.
- Give a copy of the document to your health care proxy and ask for it to be kept in a safe place. Keep the original in an easy-to-find place. Do not lock it in a safe-deposit box or filing cabinet that only you can access.
Download Advance Directive for Health Care Form - Minnesota
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