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Advance Directive for Health Care Form - Missouri
A Missouri 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 Missouri. 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.
A Missouri Advance Directive is defined and regulated by § 459.010, Title XXXI Chapter 459 (Declarations, Life Support) and must be signed in the presence of two (2) or more adult witnesses.
What Is a Missouri Advance Directive?
Advance Directives are legally binding documents that outline an individual's wishes regarding life support, resuscitation and other interventions for both their health care team and family members.
The paperwork for all Advance Directives for Health Care includes two parts in total - a Living Will and a Medical Power of Attorney.
A Living Will is a legal document that intends to ensure and specify an individual's end-of-life wishes regarding health care and medical treatment in the event of their permanent incapacity. A Medical Power of Attorney - otherwise called a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care - is a form that elects an agent to make medical decisions on the behalf of the individual signing the document.
How to Write an Advance Directive in Missouri?
You'll need to follow these important steps when preparing your document:
STEP 1 - Choose your health care agent - or proxy. This agent should be a person you trust to make medical decisions for you.
STEP 2 - Consider the kinds of treatment you do or do not want to receive in the event of a serious illness or incapacitation. Consider whether you want to:
- Take antibiotics to treat infections;
- Receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR);
- Be on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine when you cannot breathe on your own;
- Be on a dialysis machine in case of kidney failure;
- Be tube-fed if you can't eat or drink on your own.
STEP 3 - Keep the original completed and signed Advance Directive form with your medical records and give copies out to your health care proxy, physicians, health care providers, and - if necessary - to family members and close friends.
Download Advance Directive for Health Care Form - Missouri
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