A Health Care Directive is designed to assist a person in communicating their wishes about health care, should they be unable to make or communicate decisions. You may be familiar with the term living will or durable power of attorney for health care.  In 1998, Minnesota law replaced the living will and durable power of attorney for health care documents with the Health Care Directive. 

The Minnesota Health Care Directive is a single document in which a person may name someone to make decisions for them and/or provide information about care they would or would not like to receive in the event that they cannot speak for themselves. 

Creating a Health Care Directive

You may create your own Health Care Directive or use a preprinted form (see below).  To be a legal Health Care Directive, the document must include the following:

• The name and signature (or mark) of the person it applies to
• The date
• Name of the health care agent and/or statement of the person’s wishes about care
• Be signed by the person and a notary public or by two witnesses who are not the person’s named health care agent
• Be executed by a person who has the capacity to understand and make decisions

Pre-printed health care directive forms can be found at the following

Web sites:

Minnesota Network of Hospice & Palliative Care

Minnesota Board on Aging