Febuary 2008
New Advance Directives for 2008 Part 2
This month’s column continues the
discussion of the new advance directives for
2008.
To briefly review, Senate Bill 75 from
the 2007 Legislative Session dramatically
revises Utah’s Code governing advance
directives.
The new “Advance Health Care Directive
Act” (“Act”) is found in Sections 75-2a-101
thru 124, Utah Code Annotated, and it became
effective on January 1, 2008.
The Act provides an “Optional Form” to
use. It can be found at § 75-2a-117, Utah
Code Ann. The Form is divided into four
Parts:
Part 1 allows you to name another
person to make health care decisions for
you when you cannot make decisions or
speak for yourself. You can expressly
identify the name and address of your
agent. You can also approve or limit some
powers of your agent.
Part 2 allows you to record your
wishes about health care in writing. This
part is similar to the former “Living Will.”
However, you can now state your wishes with
respect to the powers your agent may make
regarding end of life decisions for you. There
are four options under Part 2, and you must
select one of the four.
Part 3 tells you how to revoke the
form. This part simply lists the various
ways that you can revoke your directives.
Part 4 makes your directive legal. This
part requires your signature in the presence of
a witness but it doesn’t require a notary. The
witness must not be (a) related to you; (b)
entitled to any portion of your estate; (c)
financially responsible for your medical care;
(d) a health care provider for you; and (e)
your primary or alternate agent.
Getting hold of the “Form” is not quite
so easy, since the Act is not easily
accessible and the “form” set forth in the
Act is not in a convenient format.
However, others have constructed their
own forms that are substantially similar to
the Optional Form found in the Act.
The Center on Aging at the University
of Utah has a direct link to download the
Form in pdf format. From your browser,
enter the following URL address:
aging.utah.edu/directives
This will bring you to a page where you
can then select “Instructions and Form.”
Clicking there will produce a pdf
document that contains 19 pages, 15 of
which comprise instructions and 4 pages
comprise the “Form.”
The Form is generally selfexplanatory,
but it isn’t for the faint of
heart. As you can imagine, with 15 pages
of instructions and information before you
actually get to the Form, there is a lot to
digest.
I have also constructed my own Form.
Although it is 6 pages long, I believe it is
a bit more clear and also avoids any
ambiguity regarding the nomination of a
guardian.
You can obtain a copy of my Form by
going to my web site at
“utahattorney.com” and selecting “End of
Life Issues” under the heading of “Elder
Law” on the home page or selecting the
Elder Law tab and then scrolling down to
End of Life Issues. With a single click,
you can easily obtain the Utah Advance
Health Care Directive Form and print it.
Again, doing this yourself requires some
patience and willingness to carefully read
each part of the Form.
Since this Form is new, the Legislature
will undoubtedly be tweaking it during the
next legislative session. You should keep an
eye out for changes to it. Nonetheless, the
one you complete will be valid until revoked,
even if changes in the Act are made by the
Legislature.
After reviewing the Form, you may feel
uncomfortable about completing the Form
yourself. If so, you might consult with an
Elder Law Attorney to help you. To locate an
Elder Law Attorney, check with the National
Academy of Elder Law Attorneys at (520)
881-4005, or your local Yellow Pages.
YOUR QUESTIONS: Do you have a particular question that you would like answered? To
better serve the readers of the Utah Spirit, please direct your
questions in writing to Michael A. Jensen, Elder Law Attorney,
PO Box 571708, Salt Lake City, Utah 84157-1708, or by e-mail at:
mike-spirit@utahattorney.com.
From time to time, I will attempt to answer some of those questions.
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