The Advance Medical Directive is a document that records your wishes in different medical scenarios in which you are unable to speak for yourself. A Medical Power of Attorney is a document you create to appoint a person you know and trust to speak for you under these circumstances. This is something that you discuss in advance and entrust to someone who is willing to act on your behalf, knows what your feelings are about life support and other critical decisions in different medical scenarios, and has agreed to do this for you. It can be your lawyer but it is usually a friend or family member. As hard as these conversations can be, please take the time to have them and take action.

An Advance Medical Directive is usually created along with a Medical Power of Attorney, and the person you appoint Medical Power of Attorney is usually given copies of both documents to show to your doctors at the appropriate time. Each state has its own guidelines for Medical Power of Attorney. Sometimes that information is available alongside the information for Advance Medical Directives, but sometimes it is in a separate place altogether., so we may have duplicated some information from the previous section on Advance Medical Directives.

To provide you with accurate information, we have compiled a list of links to each state's official website page regarding Medical Powers of Attorney. However, please remember that this is not legal advice, and we recommend consulting with a lawyer and other professionals to create your BIG SIX documents.

Please find your state or local jurisdiction below to access helpful information relevant to your area. In case the provided links seem overwhelming and prevent you from taking action, you may want to consider joining the One Extra Life Club. Our community comprises professionals from your state who offer our members their services at discounted rates and have been thoroughly assessed for their high performance and integrity.