Advance Care Planning and Making a Living Will in Minnesota
When someone is hospitalized, it’s a time of shock or heightened emotion for the family. Questions about treatments, comfort care and spiritual care all come up.
If you end up in a situation like this, it’s helpful to have a document on hand that can direct your loved ones and tell them what you would have wanted.
That’s what a healthcare directive is for.
Everyone should have a healthcare directive, even if you’re healthy. That way, the people you love will have guidance if something unexpected happens. It’s a smart way to make their hard decisions a little easier.
Here’s what you should know about creating a healthcare directive in MN. We’ll cover how to create one, things to consider and what makes a healthcare directive legally enforceable.
What Is a Healthcare Directive?
A healthcare directive is a written plan you make to ensure that your medical wishes are followed. It’s a way to share your care priorities and personal preferences if you can’t speak for yourself. If you’re delirious, in a coma or suffering from dementia, for example, a healthcare directive will speak for you.
You may also hear it called a “living will.” In Minnesota, living wills are part of a healthcare directive. Since 1998, a living will, a durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, and mental health declarations have all been combined into one document: the healthcare directive.
How To Create a Healthcare Directive in MN
To create a healthcare directive or living will in Minnesota, start by asking yourself some important questions. Think of who you’d trust to make decisions for you. What are your values and beliefs about life-sustaining care? What would you like your doctor to know about you?
When you have a clear idea of what you’d like to say, take these important steps:
1. Choose a Healthcare Agent
This person will make decisions for you when you can’t communicate your preferences. Your healthcare agent should be someone you know well and trust to follow your wishes.
Your healthcare agent should not be your doctor or a member of your care team except in certain situations, like when your doctor is also a family member.
You can also designate an alternate healthcare agent. This is a “backup” agent if your primary healthcare agent isn’t available or is unable or unwilling to take action.
It’s particularly helpful to designate an alternate healthcare agent if your primary agent is someone very close to you, like your spouse. This way, if you and your healthcare agent are involved in the same emergency, the alternate can step in.
2. Complete Your Healthcare Directive: Things To Consider
The State of Minnesota offers a healthcare directive form for people to download and use. Your attorney can also draft one for you.
One of the main parts of a healthcare directive is specifying what treatments you’d want and in what circumstances. This includes what treatments you’re comfortable with to sustain or prolong your life:
- CPR
- Tube feedings
- IV (intravenous fluids)
- Ventilator (breathing machine)
- Antibiotics
You’ll also want to consider and clarify:
- Your preferences for pain management, comfort measures and spiritual care
- Your goals for medical care in certain situations, such as pregnancy or permanent brain injury
- The point at which you’d want life support to be discontinued
- Whether you’d like to be an organ donor in the event of your death
You can even skip sections if you don’t have a preference.
It’s a lot of questions, and a lot to consider. We always recommend having your lawyer create a healthcare directive for you as part of a complete estate plan. This way, you can ensure that all your documents work in tandem and that all details are addressed.
3. Have Conversations About Your Decisions
Your healthcare agent shouldn’t be surprised that they were named in your healthcare directive. Discuss your plans with them so they know your thoughts and what’s important to you.
You can also talk about your healthcare directive with your doctor, which will help ensure that your care team follows your wishes. Talking about it with your doctor is not a legal requirement, but it’s important.
4. Keep the Directive in a Safe Place
Make sure your healthcare agent and key family members have copies of your healthcare directive or know where to find it. You can also give a copy to your doctor to add to your medical records.
Put your copy in a safe place in your home—usually the same place you keep other important documents, like your birth certificate, social security card and passport.
Legal Requirements for Healthcare Directives in MN
Under Minnesota law, healthcare directives must meet certain legal requirements in order to be enforceable.
First, you must be at least 18 years old (a legal adult) to create one, and you must create it willingly. The document must also be made at a time when you can understand and communicate your healthcare wishes. (If a family has waited until someone is too sick or injured to share their wishes, it’s too late for a healthcare directive.)
The document itself must:
- Be in writing and dated
- Say your name
- Name a healthcare agent or share your wishes for life-sustaining treatment (or both)
- Be signed by you or someone who’s authorized to sign for you
- Be notarized
- Be signed by two witnesses who cannot be your doctors or healthcare agents
Updating a Healthcare Directive in MN
Your healthcare directive will last until you change or cancel it, which you can do at any time. It’s a good idea to review and update your healthcare directive whenever you experience a significant change in your health or life circumstances.
For example, if you’ve recently gone through a divorce, you may want to update the document to name a new healthcare agent. This is also a good time to update your will.
You Don’t Need a Lawyer for a Healthcare Directive in MN, but It’s a Good Idea
You’re not required to have an attorney create your healthcare directive in MN. However, a living will in Minnesota is an important matter. Many families don’t discover that a document was completed incorrectly until they need to make hard choices for a loved one.
To protect your future and the people you care about, have your lawyer create your healthcare directive as part of a complete estate plan. The plan may also include documents like a will and trust, a power of attorney or transfer on death deed. It should be tailored to your exact needs and written just for you.
Schedule a Planning Session
At White Luing Law, our team can prepare a complete estate plan for you, including a healthcare directive in MN. Call 763-241-0477 or send us a message to schedule a planning session.
