To draft a medical power of attorney in Arizona, you could:
Signing Requirements – An Arizona medical power of attorney document must be signed by the principal in the presence of a witness OR a notary public ( §36-3221 (A) (3) ).
The power of attorney is written by a principal in case they cannot speak to the medical staff themself. This is common due to Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, or resulting from recent surgery. A medical power of attorney can be canceled at any time by the principal completing a Revocation Form.
These powers of attorney are always created in advance of an actual need, and they do not take effect unless and until the principal loses capacity to make health care decisions personally. Health care powers of attorney cover most medical crises, but they do not give agents power to admit principals to an inpatient mental health care facility.
Also, it can be created at the same time as the health care power of attorney, or at a later date. Valid health care and mental health care powers of attorney must: Clearly declare the principal’s intent to delegate authority to make health care decisions to a specific person;
In Arizona, in addition to other legal requirements, a health care power of attorney must be signed and either notarized or witnessed in writing by a person who affirms they were present at the signing and that the person signing the document appeared to be of sound mind and free from duress.
A Medical Decisions Power of Attorney is a document sanctioned by the Arizona Legislature in which an individual (the "Grantor") appoints another person to make health care decisions. The document only comes into effect if the Grantor is unable to make or communicate responsible decisions concerning his healthcare.
PLEASE NOTE: At least one adult witness, not to include the proxy if there is one, OR a notary public must witness you signing this document. DO NOT have the documents signed by both a witness and a notary, just pick one. If you do not know a notary or cannot pay for one, a witness is legally accepted.
The Power of Attorney does not need to be filed with the Court. Each person who is made your Agent should keep the original of his or her Power of Attorney form in a convenient place so that it can be located easily when needed.
One way to plan ahead is to make a health care directive, or name someone to make these decisions on your behalf. If no person is named, your doctors must seek someone authorized by law to make these decisions for you. This person is called a “surrogate.”
Who needs to appoint a Durable Medical Power of Attorney? If you are legally married, your spouse is already designated by law to speak on your behalf if you become incapacitated. (UNLESS, you choose someone else through using a medical power of attorney form.)
Taxpayers may email these completed forms to [email protected] or fax to (602) 716-6008.
Arizona law requires that you sign your POA in the presence of a notary public.
A: Yes, family members can witness a power of attorney. If it is a health care POA, at least one of the witnesses cannot be one of the person's health care providers or an employee of one of their health care providers, or entitled to inherit under the person's will.
It usually takes 8 to 10 weeks for The Office of the Public Guardian to register a power of attorney, so long as there are no mistakes on the form. It may take longer if there are issues they want to look into, although this is rare.
In Arizona, powers of attorney do not have an automatic expiration date after five, ten, or twenty years. Unless you choose to put one in the document, they will last for the remainder of your life. Your agent only ceases to have signing power when you die.
If the agent is acting improperly, family members can file a petition in court challenging the agent. If the court finds the agent is not acting in the principal's best interest, the court can revoke the power of attorney and appoint a guardian.
A durable power of attorney for health care names a person (often referred to as an “agent”) to make medical decisions on your behalf if you are no longer able to make health care decisions for yourself. This document is also known as a health care proxy or health care power of attorney.
An Arizona durable (financial) power of attorney is a document that allows a person (the principal) to forward their decision-making power to another person (the agent) regarding financial matters.
No — in Arizona, you don't need to notarize your will to make it valid. However, you'll need a notary if you want to make your will self-proving. When a will is self-proving, the court can accept your will without needing to contact your witnesses to prove its validity. This can speed up the probate process.
An Arizona advance directive lets an individual select a health care agent to make decisions on their behalf and make end-of-life treatment selections. The agent selected should be a spouse, family member, or close friend.
A medical power of attorney (MPOA) lets you choose an agent to make healthcare decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated and can’t make decisions for yourself. Your agent is responsible for acting according to your values and best interests. An Arizona medical power of attorney can also be referred to as a:
In Arizona, a medical power of attorney form is valid indefinitely until you revoke it or a court order removes your agent’s powers .
If you change your mind, you can revoke your medical power of attorney at any time with any of the following: Creating a written revocation of power of attorney form. Writing a statement to disqualify your agent. Telling your agent or your health care provider you want to revoke. Creating a new MPOA with different terms.
Yes, your Arizona medical power of attorney must be signed in the presence of a notary public or one witness. If you’re physically unable to sign, you can tell your notary or witness that the document expresses your wishes and you intend to make it valid. Relevant law: A.R.S. § 36-3221.
Your agent can only make healthcare decisions for you when you’re unable to do so yourself.
Your agent can’t be someone whose license as a fiduciary is currently suspended or revoked unless they’re related to you by blood, marriage, or adoption .
Your agent can be any adult you trust with your medical affairs. They should understand your values and beliefs so they can better make decisions on your behalf as you would have wanted.
The Arizona Health Care Power of Attorney Form allows an individual to identify a second party they would like to operate on their behalf should they become too sick to discuss their requests concerning medical treatment.
Definitions – “Health care power of attorney” means a written designation of an agent to make health care decisions that meets the requirements of section 36-3221 and that comes into effect and is durable as provided in section 36-3223, subsection A ( § 36.3201 (6) ).
With a health care power of attorney, people designate an agent to make their medical decisions in the event of an emergency. Health care powers of attorney assure principals that their important health care decisions rest with somebody whom they trust should they become incapacitated.
Also, powers of attorney can be very broad or very limited in scope, so people can give their agent as little or as much authority as they wish. In order to be valid, however, people must adhere to the following guidelines when creating a power of attorney: 1 The principal must understand the nature and effect of signing a power of attorney. 2 The principal must sign the power of attorney willingly. 3 The principal must initial any paragraph in the power of attorney that benefits the agent. 4 A notary and witness other than the agent, the agent’s spouse, or the agent’s children must sign the power of attorney. 5 A power of attorney can be revoked or changed for as long as the principal remains competent. 6 The financial power of attorney form itself must meet certain criteria.
Valid health care and mental health care powers of attorney must: Clearly declare the principal’s intent to delegate authority to make health care decisions to a specific person; Be signed by a principal who is of sound mind and free from duress;
The principal must understand the nature and effect of signing a power of attorney. The principal must sign the power of attorney willingly. The principal must initial any paragraph in the power of attorney that benefits the agent.
Call Arizona Estate Attorney Dave Weed at (480) 467-4325 to discuss your case today.
The mental health care power of attorney can appoint the same agent as under the health care power of attorney or somebody else. Also, it can be created at the same time as the health care power of attorney, or at a later date. Valid health care and mental health care powers of attorney must:
Also, powers of attorney can be very broad or very limited in scope, so people can give their agent as little or as much authority as they wish. In order to be valid, however, people must adhere to the following guidelines when creating a power of attorney:
A power of attorney is a legal document you can create/sign to give another person (known as the agent) the ability to make financial and medical decisions on your behalf.
A “durable” power of attorney is a term that explains when the power of attorney kicks in and how long it lasts, in essence.
In a word, yes. This may surprise many people, but your spouse is not legally authorized to do all of the same things you are allowed to do for yourself.
Our basic Estate Plan package includes a Will, POA (finance and medical), Living Will, and health care authorization (for your POA). This package is $500.00. Again, if you don’t have a POA alone (not even talking about the problems of not having a Will), you will spend a little more than half of that amount on court fees for a guardianship and conservatorship, plus potentially thousands more if attorney help is needed to navigate probate court to get the guardianship and conservatorship in place.
If you become incapacitated and you don’t have a POA in place, chances are your spouse will need to go to court and be appointed as your guardian and conservator. This will cost at least hundreds of dollars in court fees, as well as time dealing with several court documents when there are more important things to worry about (You!).
But what EXACTLY does a POA do? Simply put, a POA gives someone to do just about anything you could do yourself, such as open bank accounts, transfer money, pay bills, hire professionals for help, deal with lawsuits, refuse medical care, change doctors, and more.
There will be some limitations, such as not allowing your agent to take gifts back that he/she gave to you earlier, use your money for the agent’s benefit, etc. However, if you don’t give a broad spectrum of powers to your agent and something comes up and the agent isn’t permitted to address that particular issue, then a guardianship and/or conservatorship case will need to be initiated anyways. This would defeat one of the main purposes of having the POA’s in the first place.