Estate & probate
Health care power of attorney
A health care power of attorney names the person who may make medical decisions for you if you are unable to make or communicate them yourself.
Also called medical power of attorney · health care proxy
It answers one question that hospitals need answered immediately and cannot answer for themselves: who speaks for this patient. Naming somebody in advance replaces a conversation among relatives, at speed, under distress, with a document.
The choice matters more than people expect. The right person is not necessarily the eldest or the closest. It is whoever will actually carry out your wishes rather than their own, and can hold a position while a room disagrees with them.
What it does not do
This document does not state what you want done, only who decides. That is the job of a living will or advance directive, and the two work together: one names the decision-maker, the other tells them what you would have chosen.
This entry is a general explanation, not advice for your situation, and it deliberately avoids thresholds and figures, because those are the part most likely to be out of date. Reviewed August 27, 2026. If a decision turns on any of it, ring the office rather than relying on a page.
Read next
These interact with it.
From definition to your situation
Whether this applies to you is a different question.
A Clarity Map Session answers it against your actual accounts, documents and tax picture. Free, 30 minutes, no obligation, and you keep the written picture either way.
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