Health Care Power of Attorney Lawyer in Phoenix, AZ

You can. Arizona accepts any written health care power of attorney that meets its signing rules, and the Arizona Attorney General publishes free forms. The risk is in the details. People often have a spouse or adult child witness the form alone, which Arizona doesn't allow with a single witness. Free forms also rarely cover psychiatric admission, funeral arrangements, or a HIPAA release, and they may conflict with a living will signed years earlier. An attorney drafts all of your health care documents as one set, so they agree with each other and with the rest of your plan.

A health care power of attorney names a person. A living will states your wishes. Your agent under the health care power of attorney can make any medical decision you could make, from surgery to rehab to hospice. Your living will tells that agent, and your doctors, what you want in specific end-of-life situations, such as whether to use a feeding tube or life support. Most people need both, because no living will can predict every situation, and no agent should have to guess. Arizona also offers a separate prehospital medical care directive, the orange form, for emergency crews.

Your agent can make the health care decisions you could make yourself, limited only by the words of your document or a court order. That includes consenting to or refusing treatment, choosing doctors and facilities, reviewing medical records, and deciding about hospice and comfort care. Arizona lets you also give your agent authority over organ donation, autopsy, and funeral and disposition arrangements. Some powers need express language, such as admitting you to an inpatient psychiatric facility. Your agent should follow your known wishes and act in your best interest when your wishes aren't known.

Your agent's authority takes effect when you can't make or communicate your own health care decisions. While you can speak for yourself, you stay in charge. The appointment lasts until you revoke it or a court ends it, so it doesn't expire with time. Arizona makes revoking easy: you can sign a written revocation, tell your agent or a health care provider out loud, sign a new health care power of attorney, or take another act that shows you mean to revoke it. Many people review their documents after a marriage, divorce, move, or death in the family.

Often, but only by default and only if you're married and not legally separated. Without a health care power of attorney, Arizona's surrogate list puts your spouse first. Next comes a majority of your available adult children, then a parent. An unmarried partner comes after parents, and siblings and close friends come later still. A default surrogate also can't consent to inpatient psychiatric admission except in a narrow emergency. A health care power of attorney replaces that list with your choice, which matters most for unmarried couples, blended families, and anyone estranged from a relative.

No. In Arizona, a durable financial power of attorney covers money and property only and gives no authority over health care. Medical decisions need a separate health care power of attorney, and mental health treatment decisions can be covered by a separate mental health care power of attorney. You can name the same person in all of these documents or choose different people for each role. Some families pick a detail-minded child for finances and a calmer one for medical choices. Francisca drafts the documents together, so your agents know exactly where their roles start and stop.

Arizona offers a separate mental health care power of attorney, and Francisca includes one in every Arizona plan. If you don't have one, your health care agent can still make mental health treatment decisions after a licensed psychiatrist, neurologist, or psychologist finds you incapable. A separate document lets you spell out your wishes about mental health treatment and decide in advance whether your agent may consent to inpatient psychiatric admission. That authority must be stated expressly, so it's worth writing down while you're well. Your agent can then review the related records and act on your stated wishes.

Yes. Arizona honors a health care directive prepared in another state if it was valid where and when it was signed, as long as it doesn't conflict with Arizona's criminal laws. That helps the many Phoenix residents who moved here or split the year between states. In practice, Phoenix hospitals work most smoothly with Arizona documents, and older out-of-state forms may not include a HIPAA release, a mental health care power of attorney, or current agent names. Francisca can review your existing plan and recommend whether to keep it or sign new Arizona versions.

Keep the signed original somewhere safe that your agent can reach, and give copies to your agent, your alternates, and your primary doctor. Arizona also runs a free Healthcare Directives Registry, operated by Health Current, where you can store your health care power of attorney, living will, and prehospital directive online so participating providers can find them. Registering doesn't make a document valid or invalid, and you can update or revoke what you've filed. Avoid locking the only copy in a safe deposit box, since no one may be able to open it during an emergency.