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Living Will in Rhode Island: Declaration, Health Care Power of Attorney and Witnesses
Rhode Island uses two documents: a living will declaration under the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act, and a durable power of attorney for health care. They have different signing rules. Here is how each works.
By naveen · Updated · How we research our guides
What to know
- A Rhode Island living will (a "declaration") must be signed in front of two witnesses who aren't related to your parent by blood or marriage (R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-4.11-3).
- A durable power of attorney for health care needs two qualified adult witnesses or one notary, and the agent, health care providers and their employees can't witness (§ 23-4.10-2).
- A living will applies only when your parent is in a terminal condition and can't make treatment decisions; either document can be revoked in any manner your parent can communicate.
- The two chapters we read don't give relatives a ranked power to decide if there's no document; naming a health care agent is how your parent chooses.
- Retirement Checklist puts these documents in order alongside everything else your family needs to settle.
A Rhode Island living will is a written declaration, signed before two unrelated witnesses, telling your parent's physician to withhold or withdraw life sustaining procedures in a terminal condition. The living will law, the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act, recognizes "the right of an adult person to make a written declaration instructing his or her physician to withhold or withdraw life sustaining procedures in the event of a terminal condition." A separate chapter, 23-4.10, lets your parent name an agent to make health care decisions. Both have state forms.
What documents does Rhode Island use?
Rhode Island uses a living will declaration and a durable power of attorney for health care, and a MOLST is available as a medical order.
| Document | What it does | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Living will (declaration) | Directs the attending physician to withhold or withdraw life sustaining procedures in a terminal condition | R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-4.11-3 |
| Durable power of attorney for health care | Names one agent, plus optional alternates, to make health care decisions | § 23-4.10-2 |
| MOLST | A medical order signed with a clinician about resuscitation and life-sustaining measures | § 23-4.11-3.1 |
If your parent signs both and they conflict, "the latter executed document shall control as to any inconsistent provision" (§ 23-4.11-4). A financial power of attorney is separate; see our Rhode Island power of attorney guide. For the general picture, see power of attorney vs. advance directive.
How do you sign a Rhode Island living will?
Your parent signs it, or someone signs at their direction, in front of two witnesses who aren't related to your parent by blood or marriage; no notary is required. Under § 23-4.11-3, "A competent individual eighteen (18) years of age or older may at any time execute a declaration." It "must be signed by the declarant, or another at the declarant's direction in the presence of two (2) subscribing witnesses who are not related to the declarant by blood or marriage." The section doesn't require a notary.
The statutory form is optional: a declaration "may, but need not, be in the following form." In it, your parent directs the physician "to withhold or withdraw procedures that merely prolong the dying process and are not necessary to my comfort, or to alleviate pain," and checks whether that includes artificial feeding. The witnesses sign that your parent "voluntarily signed this document in my presence." The Department of Health publishes the same declaration as a living will form.
When does a Rhode Island living will take effect?
Under § 23-4.11-3(c), a declaration "has operative effect only when" it "is communicated to the attending physician," your parent "is determined by the attending physician to be in a terminal condition," and your parent "is unable to make treatment decisions." A terminal condition is "an incurable or irreversible condition that, without the administration of life sustaining procedures, will, in the opinion of the attending physician, result in death."
Until then, your parent decides: a patient "has the right to make decisions regarding use of life sustaining procedures as long as the patient is able to do so." Comfort care isn't a life sustaining procedure under the act.
How do you sign a durable power of attorney for health care?
The statutory form in § 23-4.10-2 says "This document must be witnessed by two (2) qualified adult witnesses or one (1) notary public." None of these may witness:
- a person your parent names as agent or alternate agent;
- a health care provider or an employee of a health care provider;
- the operator of a community care facility or an employee of that operator.
At least one witness, or the notary, must also declare they are "not related to the principal by blood, marriage, or adoption" and not entitled to any part of your parent's estate. The form's warning says your parent must be "at least eighteen (18) years of age and a resident of the state for this document to be legally valid and binding." The Department of Health posts the statutory form as a PDF.
Who can't be the health care agent?
The form lists four: "(1) your treating health care provider, (2) a nonrelative employee of your treating health care provider, (3) an operator of a community care facility, or (4) a nonrelative employee of an operator of a community care facility." Relatives who work for the provider or facility aren't excluded by that list.
Your parent names one agent and may name two alternates, who serve in order. Divorce matters: "If the agent you designated is your spouse, he or she becomes ineligible to act as your agent if your marriage is dissolved."
What can the health care agent decide, and when?
The agent can "consent, to refuse to consent, or to withdraw consent to any care, treatment, service, or procedure to maintain, diagnose, or treat a physical or mental condition," within your parent's stated wishes and limits. Your parent keeps control while able: "you have the right to make medical and other health care decisions for yourself so long as you can give informed consent with respect to the particular decision." Under § 23-4.10-5, if your parent can't make decisions about life sustaining procedures, "the durable power of attorney governs."
The agent may see your parent's medical records unless the document limits that. A court can remove the agent's power if the agent authorizes anything illegal, acts against your parent's known desires, or does something "clearly contrary to your best interests" when those desires aren't known.
What happens if your parent has no document?
If your parent can no longer decide and has no agent, someone can petition the Probate Court in the city or town where your parent lives to appoint a limited guardian, including for "health care" decisions (§ 33-15-2). Chapters 23-4.10 and 23-4.11 don't give a ranked list of relatives who can make health care decisions for an adult without a document. See conservatorship and guardianship, and, for a complicated situation, what an elder law attorney does.
How do you revoke a living will or health care power of attorney?
Both can be revoked "at any time and in any manner by which the declarant is able to communicate an intent to revoke, without regard to mental or physical condition" (§ 23-4.10-3, § 23-4.11-4). A revocation counts with a physician or provider once it is communicated to them by your parent or someone who witnessed it. A new statutory health care power of attorney also "revokes any prior durable power of attorney for health care."
What about MOLST?
A MOLST, or medical orders for life sustaining treatment, is "a voluntary request that directs a healthcare provider regarding resuscitative and life-sustaining measures" under § 23-4.11-3.1. It is signed by the patient or their recognized decision maker and a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant, on a form approved by the Department of Health. "The MOLST form is valid within or outside a hospital or other healthcare setting," and "No patient is required to elect a MOLST."
Frequently asked questions
Does a living will need to be notarized in Rhode Island?
Section 23-4.11-3 doesn't require a notary for a living will declaration. Your parent signs, or someone signs at their direction, in the presence of two witnesses who aren't related to your parent by blood or marriage. A durable power of attorney for health care is different: two qualified adult witnesses or one notary.
Can a family member witness a Rhode Island advance directive?
Not for a living will: § 23-4.11-3 requires witnesses not related to your parent by blood or marriage. For a durable power of attorney for health care, the form bars the agent, alternates, providers and certain facility staff, and at least one witness, or the notary, must declare they aren't related to your parent or entitled to part of their estate.
Where can I get a Rhode Island living will form?
The living will declaration form is printed in R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-4.11-3, and the Department of Health posts it as a PDF. The statutory form is optional; a declaration "may, but need not" follow it. The durable power of attorney for health care form is in § 23-4.10-2, and the Department of Health posts that too.
Who makes medical decisions in Rhode Island if there's no advance directive?
Chapters 23-4.10 and 23-4.11 don't give relatives a ranked power to decide for an adult without a document. If your parent can't decide and named no agent, the Probate Court can appoint a limited guardian or guardian with authority over health care. Signing a durable power of attorney for health care lets your parent choose instead.
Is an advance directive from another state valid in Rhode Island?
Yes, if it followed that state's law. Under § 23-4.10-11, a durable power of attorney "executed in another state in compliance with the law of that state is validly executed" for chapter 23-4.10, and § 23-4.11-12 says the same for a living will declaration. Providers may presume a document is valid unless they have actual notice to the contrary.
Can my parent change their mind after signing?
Yes. Either document can be revoked at any time and in any manner your parent can communicate, regardless of their mental or physical condition. The revocation takes effect for a doctor or provider once it's communicated to them, by your parent or by someone who witnessed it, and becomes part of the medical record.
Getting started
These documents only help if they're signed while your parent can sign them, with the right witnesses for each. 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.I. Gen. Laws chapter 23-4.11, Rights of the Terminally Ill Act: purpose (23-4.11-1), definitions (23-4.11-2), the declaration and when it applies (23-4.11-3), MOLST (23-4.11-3.1), revocation (23-4.11-4) and out-of-state declarations (23-4.11-12).
- R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 23-4.10, Health Care Power of Attorney: the statutory form and witnesses (23-4.10-2), revocation (23-4.10-3), treatment (23-4.10-5) and out-of-state documents (23-4.10-11).
- Rhode Island Department of Health, Living will declaration form: the declaration with two witness lines.
- Rhode Island Department of Health, Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare statutory form: the agent form with its witness and notary options.
- Rhode Island Department of Health, MOLST form: the medical order form and its voluntary notice.
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-15-2: petitioning the Probate Court for a limited guardian or guardian.
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