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Medical Power of Attorney in Ohio: Health Care Power of Attorney and Living Will Rules
Ohio uses two documents: a durable power of attorney for health care and a living will. Each needs two qualified witnesses or a notary. Here is how they work and how they fit together.
By naveen · Updated · How we research our guides
What to know
- Ohio's medical power of attorney is called a durable power of attorney for health care; it must be signed and dated by your parent and either witnessed by two qualified adults or acknowledged before a notary (R.C. 1337.12).
- The witnesses can't be related to your parent by blood, marriage or adoption, and can't be the agent, the attending physician or the administrator of your parent's nursing home.
- The agent decides only after the attending physician determines your parent has lost the capacity to make informed health care decisions.
- Ohio's living will, called a declaration, has the same signing choice, and where the two documents conflict in a terminal condition or permanent unconsciousness, the living will controls (R.C. 2133.03).
- Retirement Checklist puts these documents in order alongside everything else your family needs to settle.
A medical power of attorney in Ohio lets your parent name an agent, called the attorney in fact, to make health care decisions when your parent can't. Under R.C. 1337.12, it must be signed at the end by your parent, state the date it was signed, and either be witnessed by two eligible adults or be acknowledged before a notary public. Ohio's living will follows the same choice of witnesses or notary.
What is a durable power of attorney for health care in Ohio?
It's the Ohio document that names someone to make health care decisions for your parent "at any time that the attending physician of the principal determines that the principal has lost the capacity to make informed health care decisions." Any adult of sound mind can make one. It's separate from a financial power of attorney; see our Ohio power of attorney guide for that one.
It doesn't expire unless your parent writes in an expiration date. It can also authorize the agent to get your parent's health information, including records protected by federal privacy rules, starting immediately, before any loss of capacity.
How is it different from a living will?
A health care power of attorney names a person. A living will, which Ohio calls a declaration, records instructions about life-sustaining treatment.
| Document | What it does | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Durable power of attorney for health care | Names an agent to make health care decisions when your parent can't | R.C. 1337.11 to 1337.17 |
| Declaration (living will) | States your parent's wishes about life-sustaining treatment if they're in a terminal condition or a permanently unconscious state | R.C. Chapter 2133 |
When your parent has both and they conflict, Ohio has a rule: the living will "supersedes the durable power of attorney for health care to the extent that the provisions of the documents would conflict" if your parent is in a terminal condition or a permanently unconscious state (R.C. 2133.03). For the general picture, see power of attorney vs. advance directive.
How do you sign a medical power of attorney in Ohio?
Your parent signs at the end of the document and dates it, then chooses one of two ways to complete it (R.C. 1337.12):
- Two witnesses. Your parent signs, or acknowledges their signature, in the presence of each witness. Each witness then signs after your parent and, by signing, attests that your parent "appears to be of sound mind and not under or subject to duress, fraud, or undue influence."
- A notary. Your parent acknowledges the document before a notary public, who makes the same attestation about sound mind and no undue influence.
The signatures don't have to appear on the same page. Ohio's living will uses the same two options under R.C. 2133.02.
Who can't be a witness in Ohio?
For a health care power of attorney, R.C. 1337.12(B) makes these people ineligible:
- anyone related to your parent by blood, marriage or adoption;
- the person named as agent or alternate agent;
- your parent's attending physician;
- the administrator of any nursing home where your parent is receiving care.
For a living will, the excluded witnesses are the same, minus the agent, since a living will doesn't name one. The family rule is broad, so both witnesses have to come from outside your parent's family. If finding two is hard, the notary route avoids the witness rules altogether.
Who can't serve as the agent?
Any competent adult can be named, with exceptions. Your parent's attending physician and the administrator of a nursing home where your parent is receiving care can't serve. An employee or agent of the attending physician, or of a health care facility treating your parent, also can't serve, unless they're related to your parent by blood, marriage or adoption, or belong to the same religious order (R.C. 1337.12(A)(2)).
What can the agent decide?
Once the attending physician determines your parent has lost capacity, the agent can make health care decisions "to the same extent as the principal could make those decisions," subject to the limits below, acting consistently with your parent's wishes, or in their best interest if those wishes aren't known (R.C. 1337.13).
Ohio sets limits. The agent can't refuse or withdraw life-sustaining treatment unless your parent is in a terminal condition or a permanently unconscious state and the physician requirements are met, and can't refuse comfort care. Decisions about nutrition and hydration have their own conditions, including a determination by two physicians. These are the parts of the statute worth reading with your parent, and with their doctor, before signing.
What happens if your parent has no advance directive?
If your parent has neither a living will nor a health care power of attorney, R.C. 2133.08 sets who can consent to withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment when your parent is in a terminal condition, or has been permanently unconscious for at least twelve months, in this order:
- a guardian;
- your parent's spouse;
- an adult child, or a majority of the adult children available for consultation;
- your parent's parents;
- an adult sibling, or a majority of the adult siblings available;
- the nearest adult relative by blood or adoption.
If a priority class is evenly divided, no consent can be given under that section. A spouse who is a party to a pending divorce, dissolution, legal separation or annulment can't decide. A health care power of attorney lets your parent choose the decision-maker instead.
How do you revoke an Ohio advance directive?
Your parent can revoke either document "at any time and in any manner" (R.C. 1337.14 and R.C. 2133.04). The revocation takes effect when your parent expresses the intent, except that if the attending physician knew about the document, it takes effect when the revocation is communicated to the physician.
Unless the new document says otherwise, a new health care power of attorney revokes an earlier one, and a new living will revokes an earlier living will.
What questions are worth asking before your parent signs?
These questions cover the choices your parent makes in the documents and at the signing:
- Who would your parent trust to follow their wishes even when the family disagrees?
- Who should be the alternate if the first choice can't serve?
- Does your parent want a living will too, and does it say what they want about nutrition and hydration?
- Witnesses or a notary: who is available and eligible?
- Has your parent given copies to their doctor and the agent?
Frequently asked questions
Does a medical power of attorney need to be notarized in Ohio?
Not necessarily. Under R.C. 1337.12, an Ohio health care power of attorney can be either witnessed by two eligible adults or acknowledged before a notary public. Either way, your parent must sign at the end and date it. The notary route avoids the witness eligibility rules, which exclude all of your parent's relatives.
Can a family member witness a health care power of attorney in Ohio?
No. R.C. 1337.12 makes anyone related to your parent by blood, marriage or adoption ineligible to witness, along with the agent and alternate agent, the attending physician and the administrator of your parent's nursing home. A family member can still be named as the agent, or the document can be notarized instead.
Where can I get an Ohio health care power of attorney form?
Printed forms can be sold or distributed in Ohio for adults who aren't advised by an attorney, and R.C. 1337.17 requires each one to include a specific notice. Any document that meets R.C. 1337.12's signing requirements can be used, and an attorney can prepare one.
Does an Ohio health care power of attorney cover finances?
No. It covers health care decisions. Money and property need a separate financial power of attorney under Ohio's Uniform Power of Attorney Act, R.C. 1337.21 to 1337.64, with its own signing rules and its own statutory form. Both can be signed at the same appointment, but they're separate documents.
What is the difference between a living will and a health care power of attorney in Ohio?
A living will states your parent's wishes about life-sustaining treatment if they're in a terminal condition or permanently unconscious. A health care power of attorney names an agent for health care decisions more broadly. If they conflict in those two conditions, the living will controls under R.C. 2133.03.
Can my parent change their mind after signing?
Yes. Your parent can revoke an Ohio health care power of attorney or living will at any time and in any manner. If the attending physician knew about the document, the revocation takes effect once it's communicated to that physician, so it's worth telling the doctor directly.
Getting started
A health care power of attorney only helps if it's signed while your parent can sign it, with eligible witnesses or a notary. The plan this site builds asks four questions, including which state your parents live in, and puts the steps that matter most for your family in order. It's free and takes about 90 seconds.
Related guides
Sources
- R.C. 1337.12, Durable power of attorney for health care: signing, witnesses, the notary option, and who can be agent.
- R.C. 1337.13, Authority of attorney in fact: what the agent can and can't decide.
- R.C. 1337.14, Revocation: revoking a health care power of attorney.
- R.C. 1337.17, Printed form: the notice printed forms must include.
- R.C. 2133.02, Declaration: signing a living will.
- R.C. 2133.03, When declaration operative: when the living will applies and how it interacts with the health care power of attorney.
- R.C. 2133.04, Revocation of declaration: revoking a living will.
- R.C. 2133.08, Consent without a declaration: who decides when there's no advance directive.
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