Free forms
Free health care directive and power of attorney forms, by state
A will covers what happens after you die. These two documents cover the time before, if you can't make decisions yourself. Every link goes to a free, official source for your state. Checked October 25, 2026.
AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY
Alabama
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Advance Directive for Health Care (Living Will and Health Care Proxy) (Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M and Auburn universities)) | Sign and date in front of two witnesses who are at least 19. A witness can't be your health care proxy, the person who signed for you, related to you by blood, adoption or marriage, entitled to any part of your estate, or directly financially responsible for your medical care. No notary is required. |
| Financial power of attorney | Alabama Power of Attorney Form (statutory form) (Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M and Auburn universities)) | You sign it, or someone signs for you in your presence at your direction. The law doesn't require a notary, but a signature acknowledged before a notary is presumed genuine, and the form includes a notary block. Banks and land records usually expect it notarized. |
Alabama uses one combined form for the living will and health care proxy. Anyone you name as proxy must sign the form to accept the role. No Alabama state agency publishes a printable copy; the extension copies match the statute text on the Alabama Legislature site (§ 22-8A-4 last amended 2001; § 26-1A-301 unchanged since 2011). A power of attorney under the Alabama Uniform Power of Attorney Act is durable unless it says otherwise.
Alaska
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Advance Health Care Directive (optional statutory form) (Alaska State Legislature (Alaska Statutes)) | Sign and date it, then either have two witnesses who know you personally sign, or acknowledge it before a notary public in Alaska. A witness can't be your agent, a health care provider at the place where you're getting care, or an employee of your provider or that facility. At least one witness can't be related to you by blood, marriage or adoption or entitled to any part of your estate. |
| Financial power of attorney | General Power of Attorney (statutory form) (Alaska State Legislature (Alaska Statutes)) | Sign it and acknowledge your signature before a notary public. Notarization is required for the power of attorney to be valid. No witnesses are needed. |
Alaska publishes both forms only inside the statutes, so the links go to the Legislature's statute text. On the financial form you choose whether it takes effect now or on incapacity, and if it takes effect now you must mark that it is not affected by your later incapacity for it to stay in force if you can no longer manage your affairs.
Arizona
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Health Care Power of Attorney (Life Care Planning packet) (Arizona Attorney General) | Sign and date in front of at least one adult witness or a notary. Neither the witness nor the notary can be your agent or anyone directly involved in your health care at the time. If you use only one witness, that person can't be related to you by blood, marriage or adoption or entitled to any part of your estate. |
| Financial power of attorney | No official statutory form | Sign in front of one witness and a notary. The witness can't be your agent, your agent's spouse or child, or the notary. You acknowledge your signature and the witness signs an affidavit before the notary, using the certificate wording in the statute. |
The Attorney General's free Life Care Planning page (https://www.azag.gov/issues/elder-affairs/life-care-planning) also has a separate Living Will, a Mental Health Care Power of Attorney and a prehospital Do Not Resuscitate directive (which must be printed on orange paper). The linked Health Care Power of Attorney is the 08/2026 version. Arizona's statutes offer sample health care forms but don't require a specific one. Arizona has no statutory financial power of attorney form; to be durable it must say, for example, that it is not affected by your later disability or incapacity or lapse of time. The Maricopa County Superior Court law library offers a free General Power of Attorney packet (https://superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/media/g4gnsmo5/gnpoa1z.pdf, 2019 edition).
Arkansas
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Advance Care Plan (with separate Appointment of Health Care Agent form) (Arkansas Department of Health (forms adopted by the State Board of Health)) | Sign it, then either have it notarized or sign in front of two competent adult witnesses. Neither witness can be your agent, and at least one can't be related to you by blood, marriage or adoption or entitled to any part of your estate. |
| Financial power of attorney | Arkansas Statutory Form Power of Attorney (Arkansas General Assembly (Act 805 of 2011, as enacted)) | You sign it, or someone signs for you in your presence at your direction. The statute doesn't require a notary, but a signature acknowledged before a notary is presumed genuine, so notarizing it is strongly recommended. |
The Health Department's forms page (https://healthy.arkansas.gov/boards-commissions/boards/health-arkansas-state-board-of/healthcare-decision-forms/) has the Advance Care Plan, a separate Appointment of Health Care Agent form and an Acceptance of Surrogate form, adopted in 2013 under the Healthcare Decisions Act. Arkansas's official code is published only through a commercial host, so these entries were checked against the original acts on the Legislature's site; the financial form link is the 2011 act that created the form (the form starts at § 28-68-301 inside the act), not a stand-alone form. Confirm no later amendments before relying on the exact wording.
California
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Advance Health Care Directive (statutory form, Probate Code § 4701) (California State Legislature (California Legislative Information)) | Sign and date it, then either have it notarized or sign in front of two adult witnesses. A witness can't be your agent, your health care provider or the provider's employee, or the operator or an employee of a community care facility or residential care facility for the elderly. At least one witness can't be related to you by blood, marriage or adoption or entitled to any part of your estate. If you live in a skilled nursing facility, a patient advocate or ombudsman must also sign as a witness. An electronic directive must be notarized. |
| Financial power of attorney | Uniform Statutory Form Power of Attorney (Sacramento County Public Law Library) | Sign and date it, and have your signature acknowledged before a notary public. The statutory form requires notarization; witnesses alone aren't enough for this form. |
California's statutory health care form was updated effective January 1, 2024 (AB 1029) to cover mental health care as well as physical health care. The Attorney General's older fillable PDF predates that update, so the link goes to the current form in the statute. The state's online code doesn't display the statutory financial form (it appears only in the printed code and in the 2011 chaptered bill, AB 1082), so the financial link is the Sacramento County Public Law Library's free copy; it has no notary certificate, so the notary attaches a California acknowledgment. The financial form stays in effect if you become incapacitated unless you cross out that sentence.
Colorado
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Your Right to Make Health Care Decisions (Medical Durable Power of Attorney, Living Will and CPR Directive forms) (Colorado Hospital Association (linked from the Colorado Judicial Branch's Legal Help Center)) | Medical durable power of attorney: Colorado law sets no witness or notary requirement, though adding them can help it be accepted elsewhere. Living will (declaration): sign in front of two witnesses, or sign and acknowledge it before a notary. The witnesses or notary can't be your doctor or any other physician, an employee of your doctor or of the facility where you're a patient, someone with a claim against your estate, or someone who expects to inherit from you. |
| Financial power of attorney | State of Colorado Statutory Form Power of Attorney (Colorado General Assembly, Office of Legislative Legal Services (Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 15)) | You sign it, or someone signs for you in your presence at your direction. The law doesn't require a notary, but a signature acknowledged before a notary is presumed genuine, and the form includes a notary block. Get it notarized. |
Colorado has no statutory health care form; the Colorado Judicial Branch's Legal Help Center (https://lawhelp.colorado.gov/creating-a-power-of-attorney) says so and points to the Colorado Hospital Association booklet, which is dated January 2011 but still fits current law. Since 2021 a living will may be notarized instead of witnessed, which the booklet predates. The financial form appears only inside the Legislature's 2024 compilation of Title 15; the link opens that 621-page PDF at page 445, where the form begins (the section was last amended in 2011). A medical durable power of attorney and a living will are separate documents in Colorado but may be combined.
Connecticut
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Health Care Instructions, Appointment of Health Care Representative, Designation of Conservator and Anatomical Gift (statutory form) (Connecticut General Assembly (Connecticut General Statutes)) | Sign and date it in front of two adult witnesses, who also sign. The person you appoint as your health care representative can't be a witness. No notary is required. If you live in a facility run or licensed by the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services or the Department of Developmental Services, at least one witness must be unaffiliated with the facility and one must be a physician, APRN or licensed clinical psychologist with the specified training. |
| Financial power of attorney | Durable Statutory Power of Attorney (Short Form or Long Form) (Connecticut General Assembly (Connecticut General Statutes)) | Sign and date it in front of two witnesses, and acknowledge it before a notary public or a Commissioner of the Superior Court. Connecticut requires the two witnesses for any power of attorney, and the statutory forms must also be acknowledged. |
The links go to the current statutes, which contain the forms. The Attorney General's printable advance directive forms (https://portal.ct.gov/ag/health-issues/connecticuts-living-will-laws) date from 2006 and lack later additions such as the 2018 instructions for pregnancy, so the statute text is the up-to-date version. The health care document can combine a living will, the appointment of a health care representative, a conservator designation and an organ donation; you may use only the parts you want.
Delaware
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Advance Health-Care Directive (optional form, Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act) (Delaware General Assembly (Delaware Code Online)) | Sign it. If you name an agent, one adult witness must also sign. The witness can't be your agent or your agent's spouse, domestic partner or cohabitant, and if you live or get care in a nursing home or long-term care facility, can't be its owner, operator, employee or contractor. The witness can be present in person or by live video (or by phone if they know you or can confirm your identity). No notary is needed. |
| Financial power of attorney | Durable Personal Power of Attorney (statutory form) (Delaware General Assembly (Delaware Code Online)) | Sign and date it in front of a notary and one adult witness. The witness can't be related to you by blood, marriage or adoption or entitled to anything under your will or trust. Sign the Notice at the beginning too; without it, your agent has to prove the document is valid if challenged. |
Delaware's new Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act took effect September 30, 2025, with a new optional form (§ 2511, on the linked chapter page) that replaces the older statutory form; directives made before that date stay valid if they met the law when signed. The Act also allows a separate advance directive for mental health care only (§ 2509). Both links go to the official Delaware Code, which publishes the forms only inside the statute text.
District of Columbia
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care (sample statutory form) (Council of the District of Columbia (D.C. Code)) | Sign and date it in front of two adult witnesses, who also sign. A witness can't be your health care provider or the provider's employee. At least one witness can't be related to you by blood, marriage or adoption or entitled to any part of your estate. No notary is needed. |
| Financial power of attorney | District of Columbia Statutory Power of Attorney Form (Council of the District of Columbia (D.C. Code)) | Sign it and acknowledge it before a notary public. Notarization is required for the power of attorney to be valid. If it lets your agent sell or convey real estate, it must be signed like a deed, carry a required notice at the top of the first page, and be recorded with the deed. |
D.C. uses two separate documents. The living will is a separate Declaration under the Natural Death Act (form in D.C. Code § 7-622, https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/7-622): sign it in front of two witnesses age 18 or older who aren't the person who signed for you, related to you by blood, marriage or domestic partnership, entitled to your estate, directly financially responsible for your care, your attending physician, or an employee of that physician or of the facility where you're a patient. The health care form in § 21-2207 is a sample; any form meeting § 21-2205 works. D.C.'s Uniform Power of Attorney Act, with its statutory financial form, took effect February 23, 2023.
Florida
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Designation of Health Care Surrogate (suggested statutory form) (The Florida Legislature (Florida Statutes)) | Sign in front of two adult witnesses, who also sign. The person you name as surrogate can't be a witness, and at least one witness can't be your spouse or a blood relative. No notary is needed. Give your surrogate an exact copy. A living will has the same two-witness rule (one witness not your spouse or blood relative). |
| Financial power of attorney | No official statutory form | Sign it in front of two witnesses, who also sign, and acknowledge it before a notary public. All three are required. |
Florida uses separate forms: the surrogate designation (linked) and a living will, whose suggested form is in § 765.303 (https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0765/Sections/0765.303.html). Both suggested forms were last revised in 2015; the Attorney General's printable copies date from 2005, so the links go to the current statutes. Florida has no statutory financial power of attorney form. Under the Florida Power of Attorney Act, a power of attorney signed on or after October 1, 2011 generally takes effect as soon as it's signed, your agent must be an adult or a qualifying Florida trust company, and certain powers, such as making gifts, creating a trust or changing beneficiary designations, work only if you sign or initial next to each one.
Georgia
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care (Georgia Department of Human Services, Division of Aging Services) | Sign it (or have someone sign for you in your presence at your direction) and have two witnesses who are of sound mind and at least 18 sign. Each witness signs in your presence, but they don't have to be together or present when you sign. Neither can be your health care agent, someone who will knowingly inherit from you or gain financially from your death, or someone directly involved in your health care, and only one can be an employee, agent or medical staff member of the facility where you're getting care. No notary is needed. |
| Financial power of attorney | Georgia Statutory Form Power of Attorney (with instructions) (Georgia Department of Human Services, Division of Aging Services) | Sign it in front of one competent witness and a notary public (or another officer allowed to attest deeds). The witness can't be your agent, and the notary can't also serve as the witness or be named as your agent. |
Georgia's single Advance Directive for Health Care replaced the separate living will and health care power of attorney forms in 2007; older documents signed under the earlier law generally remain valid until revoked. The Division of Aging Services' current download is the May 2010 revision of the form, which matches the current witness rules in § 31-32-5. Georgia's Uniform Power of Attorney Act and its statutory financial form took effect July 1, 2017. Georgia's official code is published only through a commercial host, so the statute text was checked through a secondary code site.
Hawaii
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Advance Health-Care Directive (optional statutory form) (Hawaii State Legislature (Hawaii Revised Statutes)) | Sign and date it, then either have two witnesses sign or acknowledge it before a notary public in Hawaii. A witness can't be a health care provider, an employee of a health care provider or facility, or your agent. At least one witness can't be related to you by blood, marriage or adoption or entitled to any part of your estate. |
| Financial power of attorney | State of Hawaii Statutory Form Power of Attorney (Hawaii State Legislature (Hawaii Revised Statutes)) | You sign it, or someone signs for you in your presence at your direction. The law doesn't require a notary, but a signature acknowledged before a notary is presumed genuine, and the form includes a notary block. Get it notarized. |
Hawaii publishes both forms only inside the statutes, so the links go to the Legislature's statute pages. A separate advance mental health care directive is available under HRS chapter 327G. Bills to replace Hawaii's advance directive law with the 2023 Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act (SB 1323, SB 3077 and HB 2257) did not pass the 2026 session, so chapter 327E still applies. A power of attorney under chapter 551E is durable unless it says otherwise.
Idaho
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Idaho Advance Directive: Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare and Living Will (with Healthcare Directive Registry form) (Idaho Department of Health and Welfare) | Sign and date it, and include your name, date of birth, phone number and mailing address. Idaho doesn't require witnesses or a notary, though you may add them. |
| Financial power of attorney | Idaho Statutory Form Power of Attorney (Idaho State Legislature (Idaho Code)) | You sign it, or someone signs for you in your presence at your direction (a notary may sign for you if you can't). A notary isn't required for the power of attorney to be valid, but a notarized signature is presumed genuine, and the form notes that notarization is required to record it or use it for real estate. |
A 2023 law replaced Idaho's old statutory living will form with a flexible 'advance care planning document'; the Department of Health and Welfare's optional form (updated March 2025) includes optional pregnancy instructions. The health care PDF begins with a registration page for the Idaho Healthcare Directive Registry, which moved from the Secretary of State to the Department of Health and Welfare; registering is optional. The financial form is published only inside the statute, so that link goes to the Legislature's statute page.
Illinois
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Illinois Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney for Health Care (Illinois Department of Public Health) | Sign it in front of one witness who is at least 18 and also signs. No notary is needed. The witness can't be your agent or successor agent; related by blood, marriage or adoption to you or your agents; your physician, advanced practice registered nurse, dentist, podiatric physician, optometrist or psychologist, or their relative; or an owner or operator (or their relative) of the health care facility where you are a patient or resident. |
| Financial power of attorney | Illinois Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney for Property (Illinois Department on Aging) | Sign it in front of one witness, who also signs, and have your signature notarized. The notary can't also be the witness. Neither the witness nor the notary can be your attending physician or mental health provider (or their relative), an owner, operator or relative of an owner or operator of a health care facility where you live or are a patient, a parent, sibling, descendant or spouse of one of those of you or any agent, or an agent or successor agent. |
Illinois has separate health care documents. The Department of Public Health also offers a Living Will form (two witnesses age 18 or older, 755 ILCS 35/3) and a Declaration for Mental Health Treatment on its Advance Directives page (https://dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/health-care-regulation/nursing-homes/advance-directives.html). The health care power of attorney is the broader document; a living will applies only to a terminal condition. The property form is the version based on the 2015 statute, which hasn't changed since.
Indiana
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | No official statutory form | Sign it in front of two adult witnesses or a notary (remote online notarization is allowed). At least one witness can't be your spouse or another relative. If someone signs for you at your direction, that person can't be a witness, the notary or your health care representative. |
| Financial power of attorney | No official statutory form | Sign it in front of a notary public, or in front of at least two witnesses who also sign. A witness shouldn't be your attorney in fact or successor, someone the document gives a power or benefit to, or the spouse or descendant of either; a power of attorney proved only through such an interested witness can be void. |
Indiana's 2021 advance directive law (IC 16-36-7) has no official or required form: any written advance directive that meets the signing rules is valid. The law directs the Indiana Department of Health to keep a list of sample forms on its website, but its advance directive resource page could not be found when this entry was checked in October 2026, after a website reorganization, and the national CaringInfo Indiana form still describes Indiana's older rules, so no form is linked. Indiana also has no statutory financial power of attorney form; IC 30-5-5 lets a power of attorney grant powers by referring to the statute's sections.
Iowa
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care (optional statutory form) (Iowa Legislature (Iowa Code 2026)) | Date it, then either sign in front of two witnesses who sign in the presence of each other and you, or acknowledge it before a notary in Iowa. Witnesses must be at least 18 and can't be your attending health care provider, that provider's employee, or your agent. At least one witness can't be related to you by blood, marriage or adoption within the third degree. |
| Financial power of attorney | Iowa Statutory Power of Attorney Form (Iowa Legislature (Iowa Code 2026)) | Sign it (or have someone other than a prospective agent sign for you in your presence) and acknowledge it before a notary public. Notarization is required, and your agent can't be the notary. |
Iowa has two health care documents. The living will is a separate Declaration relating to life-sustaining procedures, with an optional form in Iowa Code § 144A.3 (https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/144A.3.pdf) and the same two-witness-or-notary rule. Both links go to the official Iowa Code 2026 section PDFs, which contain the forms.
Kansas
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions (statutory form) (Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes (Kansas Statutes Annotated)) | Date and sign it in front of two witnesses at least 18 years old, or acknowledge it before a notary public. A witness can't be your agent, related to you by blood, marriage or adoption, entitled to any part of your estate, or directly financially responsible for your health care. |
| Financial power of attorney | No official statutory form | Sign and date it and acknowledge it before a notary public. To be durable, it must be called a "durable power of attorney" and include the statute's durability language (that your agent's authority won't end if you become disabled). |
Kansas has a separate living will (Declaration) form in K.S.A. 65-28,103 (https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch65/065_028_0103.html): sign it in front of two witnesses age 18 or older who aren't the person signing for you, related to you by blood or marriage, entitled to your estate or financially responsible for your care, or acknowledge it before a notary. Your health care agent can't be your treating provider or that provider's employee, or an owner, operator or employee of your care facility, unless related to you. Kansas has no statutory financial power of attorney form under the Kansas Power of Attorney Act.
Kentucky
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Kentucky Advance Directive: Living Will Directive and Health Care Surrogate Designation (Living Will Packet) (Kentucky Attorney General) | Date and sign it, then either have two adults witness it in your presence and each other's, or acknowledge it before a notary. The witnesses or notary can't be a blood relative, someone who would inherit from you under Kentucky law, your attending physician, someone directly financially responsible for your health care, or an employee of a health care facility where you're a patient (an employee may act as the notary). |
| Financial power of attorney | Kentucky Statutory Form Power of Attorney (Kentucky General Assembly (Kentucky Revised Statutes)) | You sign it, or someone signs for you in your presence at your direction (the document must then say why). The law doesn't require a notary, but a signature acknowledged before a notary is presumed genuine, and the form includes a notary block. Get it notarized. |
Kentucky's statutory health care form combines the living will and the health care surrogate designation. Facility owners, operators and employees can't be your surrogate unless closely related to you or in the same religious or fraternal order. Kentucky's Uniform Power of Attorney Act took effect in 2018, and the statutory financial form was added effective July 15, 2020; the financial link is the official statute PDF.
Louisiana
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | "Living Will" Declaration (illustrative statutory form) (Louisiana Secretary of State) | Sign it in front of two competent adult witnesses, who also sign. Neither witness can be related to you by blood or marriage or entitled to any part of your estate. No notary is required. |
| Financial power of attorney | No official statutory form | Louisiana law requires no particular form, but a power of attorney must be in the form the law requires for the acts it authorizes (for example, written for real estate transfers). Many people sign it as an authentic act, before a notary and two witnesses, so it will be accepted for any transaction. |
Louisiana's statutory health care form is a living will declaration that applies only to a terminal and irreversible condition; it may also name someone to make the treatment decision for you. Louisiana has no separate statutory health care proxy form: a health care power of attorney is a mandate under the Civil Code, which must expressly grant authority to make health care decisions (art. 2997). The Secretary of State keeps an optional Living Will Registry (filing fee applies); the form is the Secretary of State's January 2018 revision, and the statute's illustrative form hasn't changed since. Louisiana has no statutory financial power of attorney form.
Maine
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Advance Health Care Directive (optional statutory form) (Maine Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes (Maine Revised Statutes)) | Sign and date it, and have two witnesses sign. All signatures must be made in person, not electronically. No notary is needed. Maine's statute doesn't list who is disqualified from witnessing. |
| Financial power of attorney | No official statutory form | Sign it and acknowledge it before a notary public (or other officer authorized to take acknowledgments). Notarization is required. A durable power of attorney is valid only if it includes the statutory Notice to the Principal and Notice to the Agent. |
Maine's health care form is published only inside the statute, so the link goes to the Legislature's statute page. Your agent can't be an owner, operator or employee of a residential long-term care facility where you receive care unless related to you. Maine adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act without its statutory form (the law includes only an optional agent's certification), so there is no statutory financial form; the required notices are set out in 18-C M.R.S. § 5-905 (https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/18-C/title18-Csec5-905.html).
Maryland
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Maryland Advance Directive: Planning for Future Health Care Decisions (Maryland Department of Health (Office of the Attorney General's May 2024 form)) | Date and sign it with two witnesses, who sign in your physical or electronic (video) presence. Any competent adult can witness except your health care agent, and at least one witness can't knowingly be entitled to part of your estate or any financial benefit from your death. No notary is needed. |
| Financial power of attorney | Maryland Statutory Form Personal Financial Power of Attorney (Maryland General Assembly (Annotated Code of Maryland)) | Sign it and acknowledge it before a notary public, and have two adult witnesses sign in your presence and each other's. The notary may also be one of the two witnesses. Remote (electronic) witnessing is allowed under extra conditions, including a supervising attorney. |
The linked health care form is the Department of Health's accessible text version of the Attorney General's May 2024 form, which covers choosing a health care agent and a living will. The Attorney General's old download links now redirect to its home page. A separate Advance Directive for Mental Health Treatment is available from the Maryland Department of Health. The financial form link is the current statute PDF from the General Assembly; it was amended in 2023.
Massachusetts
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Massachusetts Health Care Proxy Form (Massachusetts Executive Office of Aging & Independence (form prepared by the Central Massachusetts Partnership to Improve Care at the End of Life)) | Sign it (or have someone sign for you at your direction) in front of two adult witnesses, who sign and affirm that you appeared to be at least 18, of sound mind and under no constraint or undue influence. The person you name as your health care agent can't be a witness. No notary is needed. |
| Financial power of attorney | No official statutory form | Massachusetts law sets no specific witness or notary requirement; the document must be in writing and, to stay in effect if you become incapacitated, must include durability language such as "This power of attorney shall not be affected by subsequent disability or incapacity of the principal, or lapse of time." |
Massachusetts has no living will statute; the health care proxy is the state's legally recognized advance directive, and you can add written wishes to it. The proxy statute sets requirements but no official form; the linked form is the one the state publishes. An operator, administrator or employee of a facility where you are a patient or resident (or have applied) can't be your agent unless related to you. Massachusetts has no statutory financial power of attorney form.
Michigan
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Michigan Advance Directive (Patient Advocate Designation), CaringInfo (CaringInfo, National Alliance for Care at Home (national nonprofit)) | Sign and date it in front of two witnesses, who also sign. A witness can't be your spouse, parent, child, grandchild, sibling, presumptive heir or known beneficiary of your will, your physician or patient advocate, or an employee of your life or health insurer, of a health facility treating you, of a home for the aged where you live, or of a community mental health program or hospital providing you mental health services. No notary is needed. Your patient advocate must sign an acceptance before acting. |
| Financial power of attorney | Michigan Statutory Form Power of Attorney (Michigan Legislature (Michigan Compiled Laws)) | Sign it, then either acknowledge it before a notary or sign in front of two witnesses who also sign. Neither witness can be an agent named in the document; one witness may also be the notary. Without notarization or two witnesses, it isn't durable. If someone signs for you at your direction, two witnesses are required. |
Michigan law sets the requirements for a patient advocate designation but has no statutory or current state-hosted health care form, so the link is the national nonprofit CaringInfo's Michigan form (revised 2023). The Department of Health and Human Services offers a separate advance directive for mental health care (https://www.michigan.gov/advancedirective). Michigan's Uniform Power of Attorney Act, with its statutory financial form, took effect July 1, 2024.
Minnesota
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Health Care Directive (suggested statutory form) (Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes (Minnesota Statutes 2025)) | Sign and date it, then have it verified either by a notary public or by two witnesses. Your health care agent or alternate agent can't be a witness or the notary. At least one witness can't be a health care provider (or a provider's employee) giving you direct care that day; the notary may be such an employee. |
| Financial power of attorney | Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney (Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes (Minnesota Statutes 2025)) | Sign it and have your signature acknowledged before a notary public. You must read and initial the notice to the principal, and your attorney-in-fact must sign the form acknowledging the notice before acting for you. The wording must be copied exactly with no changes. |
Minnesota publishes both forms only inside the statutes; the links are the Revisor's official PDFs of the 2025 statutes. The health care form is optional (any document meeting § 145C.03 works) and combines naming an agent with health care instructions. On the financial form you must mark whether it stays in effect if you become incapacitated.
Mississippi
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Mississippi Advance Health-Care Directive (CaringInfo form based on the statutory optional form) (CaringInfo, National Alliance for Care at Home (national nonprofit)) | Sign and date it, then either have two adult witnesses who know you personally sign, or acknowledge it before a notary public in Mississippi. A witness can't be your agent, a health care provider, or an employee of a health care provider or facility. At least one witness can't be related to you by blood, marriage or adoption or entitled to any part of your estate. |
| Financial power of attorney | No official statutory form | Mississippi's Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act sets no witness or notary requirement; it must be in writing and include durability language such as "This power of attorney shall not be affected by subsequent disability or incapacity of the principal, or lapse of time." Notarizing it is recommended so it can be recorded and accepted by banks. |
Mississippi's official code is published only through a commercial host, and no current copy of the statutory health care form from a Mississippi state agency or university was found (an older 2005 university copy doesn't match the current form), so the link is national nonprofit CaringInfo's Mississippi form (revised 2023), which is based on the statutory form in § 41-41-209. The statute was checked through a secondary code site current to January 2025. Mississippi hasn't adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act and has no statutory financial form; a power of attorney isn't durable unless it says so.
Missouri
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care and/or Health Care Directive (The Missouri Bar) | Sign and date the health care power of attorney and acknowledge it before a notary public; Missouri requires it to be acknowledged the same way as a real estate deed. A living will declaration that isn't entirely in your handwriting must also be signed in front of two witnesses at least 18 years old, neither of whom signed it for you. |
| Financial power of attorney | No official statutory form | Sign and date it and acknowledge it before a notary public, the same way as a real estate deed. To be durable, it must be titled "Durable Power of Attorney" and include the statute's durability language (that your agent's authority won't end if you become disabled or incapacitated). |
Missouri has no statutory health care power of attorney form; the Missouri Bar's free form (revised 2023, fillable 2024 version) combines a durable power of attorney for health care with a health care directive. Missouri's living will statute has a separate optional sample declaration (RSMo § 459.015). Your attending physician or the physician's employee, or an owner, operator or employee of a facility where you live, can't be your health care agent unless closely related to you or another exception applies. Missouri has no statutory financial power of attorney form.
Montana
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | My Choices Advance Directive (living will and health care representative) (Montana Department of Justice, Office of Consumer Protection (End-of-Life Registry)) | Sign in front of two witnesses, who also sign. Montana law doesn't bar any particular person from witnessing; the state form asks witnesses to confirm they are over 18. A notary is optional (the form has a notary section). |
| Financial power of attorney | Montana Statutory Form Power of Attorney (Montana Legislature (Montana Code Annotated 2025)) | Sign it yourself, or have someone sign in your presence at your direction. A notary isn't strictly required, but a signature acknowledged before a notary is presumed genuine, so notarizing is strongly recommended. |
The health care form (revised 08/2017) is the one the Montana End-of-Life Registry links today. The statute itself also has a short optional declaration (a living will, with or without a person you designate) in § 50-9-103. You can file a signed directive with the End-of-Life Registry by mailing it with the registry's Consumer Registration Agreement (https://dojmt.gov/wp-content/uploads/EOL-CRA.pdf); directives can't be filed electronically. Montana also recognizes a durable power of attorney under §§ 72-5-501 and 72-5-502 that authorizes decisions about life-sustaining treatment (§ 50-9-103(4)).
Nebraska
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Power of Attorney for Health Care (form DC 6:13) (Nebraska Judicial Branch (form DC 6:13, Rev. 03/16)) | Sign in front of two witnesses or a notary. Witnesses can't be your spouse, parent, child, grandchild, sibling, presumptive heir, known devisee, attending physician, mental health treatment team member, romantic or dating partner, or your agent, or an employee of your life or health insurer. No more than one witness may be an administrator or employee of a health care provider treating you. |
| Financial power of attorney | Nebraska Statutory Form Power of Attorney (form DC 6:12) (Nebraska Judicial Branch (form DC 6:12, Rev. 11/2023)) | Must be signed before a notary. Nebraska law says a power of attorney under its Uniform Power of Attorney Act is not valid unless it is acknowledged before a notary or other officer authorized to take acknowledgments. |
Nebraska uses separate documents. The health care form above appoints an agent. For a living will, use the Nebraska Living Will Declaration from the Department of Health and Human Services, State Unit on Aging (https://dhhs.ne.gov/Medicaid%20SUA/Living%20Will%20Declaration.pdf), signed before two adults or a notary; no more than one witness may work for a provider treating you, and none may work for your life or health insurer (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 20-404). The court's health care form is dated 03/16 and the witness rules were last amended in 2020, so check your witnesses against the list above. A health care power of attorney may include an advance mental health care directive (§ 30-3408(5)).
Nevada
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Advance Health-Care Directive (statutory form) (Nevada Legislature (Nevada Revised Statutes)) | Sign before a notary, or in front of two adult witnesses. The statutory form says a witness can't be the person you name as agent, and if you live in a nursing home, a witness can't be its owner, operator or employee. |
| Financial power of attorney | Nevada Statutory Form Power of Attorney (Nevada Legislature (Nevada Revised Statutes)) | Sign it yourself, or have someone sign in your presence at your direction. A notary isn't strictly required, but a signature acknowledged before a notary is presumed genuine, so notarizing is strongly recommended. If you live in a hospital, skilled nursing facility, residential facility for groups or home for individual residential care when you sign, a certificate of your competency from a physician, APRN, psychologist or psychiatrist must be attached. |
Nevada adopted a combined advance health-care directive form in 2023 (NRS 162A.855). Both links open the official statute chapter at the form, which you can print. Nevada still recognizes a separate living-will declaration (NRS 449A.433 to 449A.439), which must be signed before two witnesses. The Secretary of State's Nevada Lockbox registry stores directives but does not supply a directive form. Special statutory health care forms exist for adults with an intellectual disability (NRS 162A.865) or dementia (NRS 162A.870).
New Hampshire
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Advance Directive (durable power of attorney for health care and living will) (New Hampshire General Court (Revised Statutes Annotated)) | Sign in front of two witnesses, or before a notary public or justice of the peace. Witnesses can't be your agent, your spouse or heir, anyone who would inherit from you under a will, trust or deed or by law, or your attending practitioner or someone acting under that practitioner's direction. Only one witness may be your health or residential care provider or the provider's employee. |
| Financial power of attorney | New Hampshire Statutory Form Power of Attorney (New Hampshire General Court (Revised Statutes Annotated)) | Sign in ink (not electronically) and have it acknowledged before a notary. You must also sign the statutory disclosure statement, which must be attached to the power of attorney. |
New Hampshire's statutory advance directive form combines the health care power of attorney and the living will in one document; print it from the statute page. The statutory financial form ends with an acknowledgment for your agent to sign. A power of attorney used to convey real estate must also be notarized (RSA 564-E:105(b)).
New Jersey
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Proxy Directive (Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care) (New Jersey Department of Health (form prepared by the NJ Commission on Legal and Ethical Problems in the Delivery of Health Care)) | Sign and date it in front of two adult witnesses who also sign, or have it notarized instead of using witnesses. The person you name as your health care representative can't be a witness. |
| Financial power of attorney | No official statutory form | Must be in writing, signed, and acknowledged (for example, before a notary public) in the way New Jersey requires for deeds under R.S. 46:14-2.1. |
New Jersey has no statutory form for either document. The Department of Health posts two separate health care forms: the proxy directive linked above (names a health care representative) and an instruction directive, or living will (https://www.nj.gov/health/advancedirective/documents/instruction_directive.pdf). You can use one or both. These forms date from 2010 but are the ones the Department posts today. For a financial power of attorney there is no state form, so any durable power of attorney must meet the statute's signing rule.
New Mexico
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Optional Advance Health-Care Directive (New Mexico Compilation Commission (NMOneSource, official NMSA 1978)) | Sign and date it. Witnesses and a notary are not required; the statutory form recommends, but does not require, that two people sign as witnesses. |
| Financial power of attorney | New Mexico Statutory Form Power of Attorney (New Mexico Twelfth Judicial District Court (text of NMSA 1978, § 45-5B-301)) | Sign it yourself, or have someone sign in your presence at your direction. A notary isn't strictly required, but a signature acknowledged before a notary is presumed genuine, so notarizing is strongly recommended. |
The health care link opens the official statute at § 24-7A-4, where the optional form can be printed. The form was amended in 2015 and now refers to a 'primary care practitioner', so avoid older copies online that say 'primary physician'. A power of attorney for health care must be in writing and signed by you (§ 24-7A-2). New Mexico also has a separate Mental Health Care Treatment Decisions Act (NMSA Chapter 24, Article 7B). The financial form posted by the court matches the current statute, which has not changed since 2011.
New York
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Health Care Proxy (form 1430) (New York State Department of Health (form 1430, rev. 8/22)) | Sign and date it in front of two adult witnesses, who also sign. Your agent and alternate agent can't be witnesses. No notary or lawyer is needed. If you live in an Office of Mental Health facility, at least one witness must not be affiliated with the facility, and other special rules may apply. |
| Financial power of attorney | New York Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney (New York State Senate (Open Legislation, official law text)) | Sign, initial and date it, have your signature acknowledged before a notary, and sign in front of two witnesses who are not named as agents or as people who may receive gifts (the notary may be one of the witnesses). Your agent must also sign, with a notarized acknowledgment, before acting. |
New York has no statutory living will form. The Health Care Proxy lets you write treatment instructions and organ donation wishes on the same form. The statutory short form for financial powers of attorney was revised in 2021; use the current text.
North Carolina
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Health Care Power of Attorney (statutory form) (North Carolina Secretary of State, Advance Health Care Directive Registry (Rev. 07-08-2022)) | Sign in front of two qualified witnesses and a notary. A qualified witness can't be related within the third degree to you or your spouse, can't expect to inherit from you, can't have a claim against your estate, and can't be your attending physician or mental health treatment provider, a licensed health care provider employed by them, or a paid employee of a health facility, nursing home or adult care home where you are a patient or resident. |
| Financial power of attorney | North Carolina Statutory Form Power of Attorney (North Carolina General Assembly (General Statutes)) | Sign it and have it acknowledged before a notary. North Carolina requires acknowledgment for a power of attorney. |
North Carolina's living will is a separate form, the Advance Directive for a Natural Death (https://www.sosnc.gov/webfiles/documents/forms/advance_healthcare_directives/advance_directive_for_a_natural_death.pdf), which also needs two qualified witnesses and proof before a notary or a clerk of superior court (N.C.G.S. § 90-321). The Secretary of State also posts an Advance Directive for Mental Health Treatment and runs an optional registry where you can file your documents. The statute's form text lists an older registry web address; the registry is now on sosnc.gov.
North Dakota
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Health Care Directive (optional statutory form) (North Dakota Legislative Branch (North Dakota Century Code ch. 23-06.5)) | Sign and date it, then have your signature verified by a notary or by at least two witnesses age 18 or older. The notary and witnesses can't be your agent, spouse or heir, a relative by blood, marriage or adoption, anyone entitled to part of your estate, anyone with a claim against your estate, anyone directly financially responsible for your medical care, or your attending physician. At least one witness can't be a health care or long-term care provider giving you direct care or an employee of one. |
| Financial power of attorney | No official statutory form | North Dakota's durable power of attorney statute sets no witness or notary requirement. Signing before a notary is still recommended. |
The health care link is the official Century Code chapter PDF; the optional form is in § 23-06.5-17 near the end. North Dakota's financial power of attorney statute has no statutory form. For a financial power of attorney to keep working if you become incapacitated, it must say so, for example: 'This power of attorney is not affected by subsequent disability or incapacity of the principal or by lapse of time' (N.D.C.C. § 30.1-30-01).
Ohio
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | State of Ohio Health Care Power of Attorney (Lake County (Ohio) Probate Court (standard Ohio form, January 2022 edition)) | Sign and date it at the end, then either have it notarized or sign in front of two adult witnesses. Witnesses can't be related to you by blood, marriage or adoption, and can't be your agent or alternate agent, your attending physician, or the administrator of a nursing home where you are receiving care. |
| Financial power of attorney | Ohio Statutory Form Power of Attorney (Ohio Legislative Service Commission (Ohio Revised Code)) | Sign it yourself, or have someone sign in your presence at your direction. A notary isn't strictly required, but a signature acknowledged before a notary is presumed genuine, so notarizing is strongly recommended. |
Ohio has no statutory fill-in form for health care directives; the law only requires a specific notice on printed health care power of attorney forms (§ 1337.17). No state agency posts an official form, so the link is the standard Ohio form posted as a public service by the Lake County Probate Court. The Living Will Declaration is a separate form (https://wpassets.lakecountyohio.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/41/2024/09/30150551/ohio_living_will_declaration_2022.pdf) signed before two eligible adult witnesses or a notary (§ 2133.02). The statutory financial form has a placeholder for the jurisdiction name; write 'Ohio'.
Oklahoma
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Oklahoma Advance Directive for Health Care (statutory form) (Oklahoma Health Care Authority (copy of the statutory form in 63 O.S. § 3101.4)) | Sign in front of two witnesses who are 18 or older and are not your legatees, devisees or heirs at law (the form says they can't be related to you or inherit from you). No notary is required. |
| Financial power of attorney | Oklahoma Statutory Power of Attorney Form (Oklahoma State Courts Network (Oklahoma Statutes, 58 O.S. § 3041)) | Sign it yourself, or have someone sign in your presence at your direction. A notary isn't strictly required, but a signature acknowledged before a notary is presumed genuine, so notarizing is strongly recommended. Witnesses are not required. |
Law change ahead: HB 1687 (Laws 2026, ch. 286), the Uniform Health Care Decisions Act of 2026, repeals the current Oklahoma Advance Directive Act effective July 1, 2027. Until then, the statutory form above and its signing rules are current; check for a new form after that date. Oklahoma also has a separate statutory health care power of attorney form under its Health Care Agent Act (63 O.S. § 3111.5).
Oregon
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Oregon Advance Directive for Health Care (OHA 3905) (Oregon Health Authority) | Sign it, then either have it notarized or have two adults witness and sign it. Witnesses can't be your attending physician or attending health care provider, or the health care representative or alternate you name. If you are a patient in a long-term care facility, one witness must be someone the facility designates who meets state qualifications. |
| Financial power of attorney | No official statutory form | Oregon's power of attorney statute (ORS 127.002 to 127.045) sets no witness or notary requirement. Signing before a notary is still recommended. |
Oregon's advance directive form is set by statute (ORS 127.529, as amended in 2021), and any form you use must be substantially the same. The Oregon Health Authority posts it in many languages with a user's guide. Appointing a health care representative takes effect only after that person signs the acceptance section. An Oregon financial power of attorney stays in effect if you become financially incapable unless it says otherwise (ORS 127.005).
Pennsylvania
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Durable Health Care Power of Attorney and Health Care Treatment Instructions (Living Will) - statutory example (Pennsylvania General Assembly (Pa. Consolidated Statutes, Title 20 § 5471)) | Date and sign it in front of two witnesses age 18 or older, who also sign. Anyone who signs on your behalf can't be a witness. No notary is required. |
| Financial power of attorney | No official statutory form | Date and sign it, have your signature acknowledged before a notary, and sign in front of two witnesses age 18 or older. The notary can't be your agent; a witness can't be your agent, the notary, or anyone who signed for you. You must also sign the required notice at the start of the document, and your agent must sign the required acknowledgment before acting. |
Section 5471 is an example combining a health care power of attorney and a living will; other written forms that meet the statute also work. Pennsylvania has no statutory fill-in form for financial powers of attorney, but § 5601 sets out the exact notice and agent acknowledgment text that must be included.
Rhode Island
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Statutory Form Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care (Rhode Island General Assembly (R.I. General Laws)) | Sign before one notary public or two qualified adult witnesses who are present when you sign. Witnesses can't be your agent or alternate agent, a health care provider or its employee, or the operator of a community care facility or its employee. At least one witness (or the notary) must also declare that they aren't related to you by blood, marriage or adoption and aren't entitled to any part of your estate. |
| Financial power of attorney | Rhode Island Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney (Rhode Island General Assembly (R.I. General Laws)) | Sign it and have it acknowledged before a notary, the same way a deed is acknowledged. |
Rhode Island's living will is a separate declaration (R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-4.11-3, https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE23/23-4.11/23-4.11-3.htm), signed in front of two witnesses who aren't related to you by blood or marriage. The statutory short form includes a version with the words 'This power of attorney shall not be affected by the subsequent incompetency of the donor'; use that version if you want it to keep working if you become incapacitated.
South Carolina
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Health Care Power of Attorney (statutory form) (South Carolina Legislature (S.C. Code of Laws, Title 62, Article 5)) | Sign in front of two witnesses. Witnesses can't be your spouse, children, grandchildren or other descendants, parents, grandparents or other ancestors, siblings or their descendants, or a spouse of any of these; anyone directly financially responsible for your medical care; anyone named in your will or who would inherit from you; a beneficiary of a life insurance policy on you; your agent or successor agent; your physician or the physician's employee; or anyone with a claim against your estate. If you are a patient in a health facility, no more than one witness can be its employee. Notarization is optional. |
| Financial power of attorney | No official statutory form | Sign it, have it witnessed the same way as a South Carolina will (at least two witnesses), and have it acknowledged before a notary or proved under S.C. Code § 30-5-30. Your agent can act after you become incapacitated only once the power of attorney has been recorded like a deed in the county where you live. |
The health care link opens the Probate Code article; the form is at § 62-5-504. South Carolina's living will is a separate statutory form, the Declaration of a Desire for a Natural Death (S.C. Code § 44-77-50, https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t44c077.php). It must be signed before a notary or other officer who can administer oaths and two witnesses (one may be the notary); witnesses can't be relatives, heirs or beneficiaries of your will or life insurance, financially responsible for your care, or your attending physician or the physician's employee (§ 44-77-40). South Carolina's Uniform Power of Attorney Act (effective 2017) has no statutory form.
South Dakota
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Living Will Declaration (statutory sample form) (South Dakota Legislature (South Dakota Codified Laws)) | Sign in front of two adult witnesses, or have it notarized. The sample form has lines for both. |
| Financial power of attorney | South Dakota Statutory Form Power of Attorney (South Dakota Legislature (South Dakota Codified Laws)) | Sign it before a notary. South Dakota requires the signature to be acknowledged before a notary or other officer authorized to take acknowledgments. |
South Dakota has no statutory form for a durable power of attorney for health care; one is valid if you sign it and it is witnessed by two adults or a notary (SDCL § 59-7-2.1). A living will must state your wishes about artificial nutrition and hydration (SDCL § 34-12D-2, amended 2023). Unlike most states, a South Dakota financial power of attorney keeps working after you become disabled only if it says so (SDCL § 59-12-3); the statutory form has a line to initial for this.
Tennessee
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Advance Directive for Health Care (State of Tennessee, Health Facilities Commission (model form adopted by the former Board for Licensing Health Care Facilities)) | Sign it, then either have two competent adults witness your signature or have it notarized. Neither witness can be your agent or alternate agent, and at least one witness can't be related to you by blood, marriage or adoption or entitled to any part of your estate. |
| Financial power of attorney | No official statutory form | See the form's instructions |
The health care form (effective May 9, 2017) combines the living will and medical power of attorney into one model form and replaces Tennessee's older separate forms. Its signing rules were confirmed from the state form and the Health Facilities Commission's FAQ; the official Tennessee Code is hosted by a third-party publisher we could not access, so the statute section numbers were not checked against official code text. Financial power of attorney: not verified. We could not confirm Tennessee's financial power of attorney rules from an official source. Secondary legal sources say Tennessee has no statutory fill-in form, that its Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act is at Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-6-101 et seq., and that a power of attorney keeps working after incapacity only if it contains specific durability language (§ 34-6-102). Check the official code or ask a Tennessee attorney before signing.
Texas
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Medical Power of Attorney - Designation of Health Care Agent (MPOA) (Texas Health and Human Services Commission (effective 5/2024)) | Sign it before a notary, or sign in front of two competent adult witnesses who also sign. At least one witness can't be your agent, a relative by blood or marriage, someone who would inherit from you, your attending physician or the physician's employee, certain employees of a health facility where you are a patient, or anyone with a claim against your estate. |
| Financial power of attorney | Statutory Durable Power of Attorney (SDPOA) (Texas Health and Human Services Commission (Word form, effective 9/2017; text of Tex. Estates Code § 752.051)) | Sign it and have your signature acknowledged before a notary or another officer authorized to take acknowledgments and administer oaths. It must say it survives your disability or incapacity; the statutory form includes this language. |
Texas uses separate health care forms: the Medical Power of Attorney linked above and the Directive to Physicians and Family or Surrogates, or living will (https://fhb.hhs.texas.gov/sites/default/files/documents/directive-to-physicians-and-family-or-surrogates-living-will-english.pdf), which has the same signing rules (Tex. Health & Safety Code § 166.032). HHS also posts a Declaration for Mental Health Treatment and an Out-of-Hospital DNR order. HHS posts the statutory durable power of attorney only as a Word file; its official text is in Tex. Estates Code § 752.051, last amended in 2017.
Utah
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Advance Health Care Directive (optional statutory form) (Utah Legislature (Utah Code)) | If you name an agent, sign in front of one adult witness who also signs. The witness can't be your agent, your agent's spouse or cohabitant, or, if you live or receive care in a nursing home or assisted living facility, its owner, operator, employee or contractor. The witness may be present in person or by live video (or by phone in limited cases). No notary is required. |
| Financial power of attorney | Utah Statutory Form Power of Attorney (Utah Legislature (Utah Code)) | Sign it before a notary or other officer authorized to take acknowledgments, while you understand that you are appointing an agent to handle your finances. If you live (or are about to live) in a hospital, assisted living or skilled nursing facility, you generally can't name its owner, operator, health care provider or employee as agent unless that person is your spouse, guardian or next of kin. |
Recent change: Utah's Uniform Health Care Decisions Act took effect January 1, 2026 (Utah Code Title 75A, Chapter 9) and replaced the former Advance Health Care Directive Act and its form (old Title 75, Chapter 2a). A directive made before 2026 is still valid if it met the law when it was made (§ 75A-9-128). The new Act also allows an advance mental health care directive (§ 75A-9-108). Utah's power of attorney law was renumbered from Title 75, Chapter 9 to Title 75A, Chapter 2 in 2024.
Vermont
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Vermont Advance Directive - Short Form (Vermont Ethics Network (form linked by the Vermont Department of Health, which contracts with the Network for advance directive support)) | Date and sign it in front of two witnesses age 18 or older, who sign and affirm that you appeared to understand it and were free from pressure. Witnesses can't be your agent, spouse, parent, adult sibling, adult child or adult grandchild. A witness may take part remotely by live video or phone if you and the witness know each other and you list the witness's name, contact information and relationship to you on the directive. |
| Financial power of attorney | Vermont Statutory Form Power of Attorney (Vermont General Assembly (Vermont Statutes Online)) | Sign it yourself, or have someone sign in your presence at your direction. A notary isn't strictly required, but a signature acknowledged before a notary is presumed genuine, so notarizing is strongly recommended. |
Vermont has no single statutory advance directive form; the Department of Health links to the Vermont Ethics Network's short form, long form and health care agent form. If you are being admitted to or live in a nursing home or residential care facility, or are being admitted to or are a patient in a hospital, the directive isn't effective unless a designated person (such as an ombudsman, clergy member, Vermont attorney or Probate Division designee) explains it to you and signs a statement. You can register a directive with the free Vermont Advance Directive Registry. Vermont adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act effective July 1, 2023 (14 V.S.A. ch. 127); a separate statutory short form exists for real estate transactions (§ 4052).
Virginia
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Advance Directive (statutory suggested form) (Virginia General Assembly (Code of Virginia, Legislative Information System)) | Sign in front of two adult witnesses (over 18), who also sign. Your spouse or a blood relative may be a witness. No notary is required. |
| Financial power of attorney | No official statutory form | Sign it yourself, or have someone sign in your presence at your direction. A notary isn't strictly required, but a signature acknowledged before a notary is presumed genuine, so notarizing is strongly recommended. To be recordable (for example, for real estate), it must also meet Virginia's acknowledgment requirements in Va. Code § 55.1-600. |
Virginia's Uniform Power of Attorney Act has no statutory fill-in form; it includes only an optional agent's certification (§ 64.2-1639). You can submit a completed advance directive to Virginia's Advance Health Care Planning Registry (Va. Code § 54.1-2994 et seq.).
Washington
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Health Care Directive (statutory form) (Washington State Legislature (Revised Code of Washington)) | Sign before a notary, or in front of two witnesses. Witnesses can't be related to you by blood or marriage, entitled to any part of your estate, your attending physician or the physician's employee, an employee of a health facility where you are a patient, or anyone with a claim against your estate. |
| Financial power of attorney | No official statutory form | Sign and date it, then either have it notarized or have two competent witnesses sign it in your presence. Witnesses can't be your home care provider or a care provider at an adult family home or long-term care facility where you live, and can't be related to you or your agent by blood, marriage or state-registered domestic partnership. |
Washington's health care directive is a living will. To name someone to make health care decisions, use a durable power of attorney for health care under RCW 11.125 (health care authority is covered in RCW 11.125.400); it follows the same signing rules as the financial power of attorney above, and Washington has no statutory fill-in form for either one.
West Virginia
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | State of West Virginia Combined Medical Power of Attorney and Living Will (West Virginia Center for End-of-Life Care (West Virginia University)) | Sign in front of two witnesses age 18 or older, and have a notary acknowledge the witnesses' signatures. Witnesses can't be anyone who signed for you, a relative by blood or marriage, anyone entitled to part of your estate under your will, anyone directly financially responsible for your medical care, your attending physician, or your medical power of attorney representative or successor. |
| Financial power of attorney | West Virginia Statutory Form Power of Attorney (West Virginia Legislature (West Virginia Code)) | Sign it and have it acknowledged before a notary. West Virginia requires notarization. |
The PDF from the WV Center for End-of-Life Care opens with a short FAQ; the statutory combined form follows it. It reflects the 2022 update to the West Virginia Health Care Decisions Act. Separate medical power of attorney and living will forms are also set out in W. Va. Code § 16-30-4. You can send a copy of your completed form to the WV e-Directive Registry.
Wisconsin
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Power of Attorney for Health Care (F-00085) (Wisconsin Department of Health Services (F-00085, Rev. 02/2020)) | Sign and date it in front of two witnesses age 18 or older. Witnesses can't be related to you by blood, marriage, adoption or domestic partnership; know they are entitled to or have a claim on your estate; be directly financially responsible for your health care; be your health care agent; or be a health care provider serving you, or an employee of that provider or of an inpatient facility where you are a patient (chaplains and social workers excepted). Witnessing by live two-way video is allowed under certain conditions. No notary is required. |
| Financial power of attorney | Wisconsin Statutory Power of Attorney for Finances and Property (F-00036) (Wisconsin Department of Health Services (F-00036, 10/2024)) | Sign it, or have an adult sign your name at your express direction and in your physical presence. A notary isn't required, but a notarized signature is presumed genuine and, as the state form notes, is more easily accepted by banks and other businesses. |
The health care form is the official Department of Health Services form required by Wis. Stat. § 155.30(3); keep pages 1 to 6 together as your signed document. Wisconsin's living will is a separate DHS form, the Declaration to Health Care Professionals (https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/forms/advdirectives/f00060.pdf). DHS also posts large-print and translated versions and an Authorization for Final Disposition.
Wyoming
| Document | Free official form | How to sign |
|---|---|---|
| Health care directive | Advance Health Care Directive (sample form in University of Wyoming Extension bulletin B-1250.10) (University of Wyoming Extension (bulletin B-1250.10, September 2013), posted by the Wyoming Judicial Branch) | Sign it, then either have it notarized or have two witnesses sign a declaration that you signed or acknowledged it in their presence. Witnesses can't be a treating health care provider or the provider's employee, the agent named in the document, or the operator or an employee of a community or residential care facility. |
| Financial power of attorney | State of Wyoming Statutory Form Power of Attorney (Wyoming Judicial Branch (text of Wyo. Stat. § 3-9-301)) | Sign it yourself, or have someone sign in your presence at your direction. A notary isn't strictly required, but a signature acknowledged before a notary is presumed genuine, so notarizing is strongly recommended. |
Wyoming has no statutory advance directive form (the former optional form section, § 35-22-405, was repealed in 2007). The linked University of Wyoming Extension bulletin explains the law and includes a sample form. It dates from 2013; its sample form says to sign before a notary or two witnesses, which matches the current statute, though one passage of the bulletin says you need both, which is more than the law requires. The Wyoming courts' advance directive page also offers a sample psychiatric advance directive.
Common questions
What is an advance directive?
A document that says what medical care you want if you can't speak for yourself (a living will), and names someone to make health care decisions for you (a health care power of attorney or proxy). Most states have an official form, and many combine both in one document.
What is a durable power of attorney?
A document that names someone (your agent) to handle your finances, such as paying bills and managing accounts, if you can't. "Durable" means it keeps working if you lose capacity. Without one, your family may have to ask a court to appoint a guardian or conservator.
Do I need a lawyer for these forms?
Not usually. State statutory forms are written for people to fill out themselves. Follow the signing rules exactly, usually witnesses, a notary or both. See a lawyer if your situation is complicated.
Does MyLastWill make these documents?
No. Our builder writes wills and related gift documents. This page links to each state's free official forms so you can sign them alongside your will.
General information, not legal or medical advice. Forms and rules change; check the source before you sign. Read more: power of attorney and health care directives.
Fifteen minutes today. Generations of good.
Write your will, choose your causes, and print it for signing. It's free, and your answers stay on your device.
Start my free plan