According to Pennsylvania law, any individual 18 years of age or more and of sound mind may execute a Directive of Health Care governing the withholding of life-sustaining treatment
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In a Living Will you do not appoint an agent to make health related decisions for you if you are terminally ill. If you wish to designate such attorney-in-fact you need to complete Health Care Power of Attorney |
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An individual of sound mind who is 18 years of age or older or who has graduated from high school or has married may execute at any
time a health care directive governing the initiation, continuation, withholding or withdrawal of life sustaining treatment.
How to complete this document: This is an important legal document known as an "Advance Directive for Health Care". Pennsylvania Advance Directive for Health Care is designed to help you communicate your wishes about medical treatment at some time in the future when you are unable to make your wishes known because of illness or injury. These wishes are usually based on personal values. In particular, you may want to consider what burdens or hardships of treatment you would be willing to accept for a particular amount of benefit obtained if you were seriously ill.If there is something you do not understand about this document you should consult an attorney. Before signing this Pennsylvania Advance Directive for Health Care you need to discuss your treatment with your physician in as many details as possible, and consider types of treatments that you want/do not want to be performed for you when you are unable to express your wishes because of your illness. Please make sure to state clearly particular treatments you want or do not want. Pennsylvania Advance Directive for Health Care may not be changed or modified. If you want to make changes in this Pennsylvania Advance Directive for Health Care, you must make an entirely new one. Pennsylvania Advance Directive is not required to be in the statutory form and may include other specific directions, including, but not limited to, the designation of another person to make the treatment decision for the Declarant if the Declarant is incompetent and is determined to be in a terminal condition or to be permanently unconscious. The Advance Directive must be signed by the Declarant, or by another on behalf of and at the direction of the Declarant, and must be witnessed by two individuals each of whom is 18 years of age or older. THE FOLLOWING PERSONS MAY NOT ACT AS ONE OF THE WITNESSES: (1) the person designated by the Principal as your agent; (2) a person related to the Principal by blood or marriage; (3) a person entitled to any part of the Principal’s estate after the Principal’s death under a will or codicil executed by the Principal or by operation of law; (4) the Principal’s attending physician; (5) an employee of the Principal’s attending physician; (6) an employee of a health care facility in which the Principal is a patient if the employee is providing direct patient care to the Principal or is an officer, director, partner, or business office employee of the health care facility or of any parent organization of the health care facility; or (7) a person who, at the time this power of attorney is executed, has a claim against any part of the Principal’s estate after his or her death. Pennsylvania Advance Directive may be revoked at any time and in any manner by the Declarant without regard to the Declarant's mental or physical condition. A revocation is effective upon communication to the attending physician or other health care provider by the Declarant or a witness to the revocation. |
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