Advance Directive
A legal document that tells doctors and family members what medical care you want if you become too ill or injured to speak for yourself. Also called a living will or health care directive.
An advance directive (formally called a “health care directive” in Minnesota) is a legal document that lets you make decisions about your future medical care in advance. It takes effect if you become unable to communicate your wishes due to illness, injury, or mental incapacity.
In Minnesota, a health care directive under Minn. Stat. chapter 145C can do two things: (1) name a person (called a “health care agent”) to make medical decisions for you, and (2) give instructions about what treatments you do or do not want. You can include one or both parts in your directive.
You must be at least 18 years old and competent to create a health care directive. The document must be signed, dated, and witnessed by two people or notarized.
Why it matters: Without an advance directive, your family members may have to make difficult medical decisions for you without knowing your wishes, or they may disagree with each other about your care. An advance directive gives you control and relieves your family of that burden.
Example: A person creates a health care directive naming their spouse as their health care agent and stating that they do not want to be kept on life support if they are in a permanent vegetative state. Years later, after a severe stroke, the spouse is able to carry out these wishes with confidence.
Hospital admissions, estate planning, end-of-life planning, serious illness