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According to Texas law (Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 166), an Advance health care directive means a witnessed written document in which instructions are given by a principal or in which the principal's desires are expressed concerning any aspect of the principal's health care, and includes, but is not limited to, the designation of a health care surrogate, a living will, and an anatomical gift preferences made pursuant to Texas Statutes.
Legal Helpmate provides you with two options
1) The Premium Package - Texas Advance Health Care Directive contains the following documents:
- Texas Advance Health Care Directive (Living Will or Directive to Physicians and Family or Surrogates);
- Texas Medical Power of Attorney;
- Texas Durable Springing Power of Attorney for Property and Finance.
2) The Basic Package - Texas Advance Health Care Directive contains the following documents:
- Texas Advance Health Care Directive (Living Will or Directive to Physicians and Family or Surrogates);
- Texas Medical Power of Attorney.
THIS ADVANCE HEALTH CARE DIRECTIVE IS NOT VALID UNLESS IT IS SIGNED IN THE PRESENCE OF TWO COMPETENT ADULT WITNESSES. 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.
ENFORCEABILITY OF ADVANCE DIRECTIVES EXECUTED IN ANOTHER JURISDICTION
An advance directive or similar instrument validly executed in another state or jurisdiction shall be given the same effect as an advance directive validly executed under the law of this state.
HEALTH CARE DIRECTIVE
This is an important legal document known as an Advance Directive. It 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.
Before signing a Health Care Directive you need to discuss you 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.
The Health Care Directive may not be changed or modified. If you want to make changes in the document, you must make an entirely new one.
Revocation of Directive
A Principal (a person giving this directive) may revoke a directive at any time without regard to the Principals mental state or competency. A directive may be revoked by:
- the Principal or someone in the Principals presence and at the Principals direction canceling, defacing, obliterating, burning, tearing, or otherwise destroying the directive.
POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR HEALTH CARE (MEDICAL POWER OF ATTORNEY)
Except to the extent you state otherwise, Texas power of attorney for health care (medical power of attorney) gives the person you name as your agent the authority to make any and all health care decisions for you in accordance with your wishes, including your religious and moral beliefs, when you are no longer capable of making them yourself. Because "health care" means any treatment, service, or procedures to maintain, diagnose, or treat your physical or mental condition, your agent has the power to make a broad range of health care decisions for you. Your agent may consent, refuse to consent, or withdraw consent to medical treatment and may make decisions about withdrawing or withholding life-sustaining treatment. Your agent may not consent to voluntary inpatient mental health services, convulsive treatment, psychosurgery, or abortion. A physician must comply with your agent's instructions or allow you to be transferred to another physician.
Your agent's authority begins when your doctor certifies that you lack the competence to make health care decisions.
Your agent is obligated to follow your instructions when making decisions on your behalf. Unless you state otherwise, your agent has the same authority to make decisions about your health care as you would have had.
The person you appoint as agent should be someone you know and trust. The person must be 18 years of age or older or a person under 18 years of age who has had the disabilities of minority removed. If you appoint your health or residential care provider (e.g., your physician or an employee of a home health agency, hospital, nursing home, or residential care home, other than a relative), that person has to choose between acting as your agent or as your health or residential care provider; the law does not permit a person to do both at the same time.
You should inform the person you appoint that you want the person to be your health care agent. You should discuss this document with your agent and your physician and give each a signed copy. You should indicate on the document itself the people and institutions who have signed copies. Your agent is not liable for health care decisions made in good faith on your behalf.
This document may not be changed or modified. If you want to make changes in the document, you must make an entirely new one.
You may wish to designate an alternate agent in the event that your agent is unwilling, unable, or ineligible to act as your agent. Any alternate agent you designate has the same authority to make health care decisions for you.
A Principal may revoke a Power of Attorney at any time. A Power of Attorney may be revoked by:
- the Principal or someone in the Principal's presence and at the Principal's direction canceling, defacing, obliterating, burning, tearing, or otherwise destroying the Power of Attorney;
- the Principal signing and dating a written revocation that expresses the Principal's intent to revoke the Power of Attorney; or
- the Principal orally stating the Principal's intent to revoke the Power of Attorney.
A written revocation takes effect only when the Principal or a person acting on behalf of the Principal notifies the attending physician of its existence or mails the revocation to the attending physician. The attending physician or the physician's designee must record in the patient's medical record the time and date when the physician received notice of the written revocation and must tear down the document or remove it from the patient's record.
Except as otherwise provided, a person is not civilly or criminally liable for failure to act on a revocation made under this section unless the person has actual knowledge of the revocation.
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To better understand the health care and pecuniary related issues our legal articles, frequently asked questions, facts and other law related information may be of interest to you.
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