Health & Benefits

A Power of Attorney for Health Care is a legal document that lets you choose someone to make health care decisions for you. The person you choose will then be able to make health care decisions for you when you choose or if you are no longer able to make decisions for yourself. They will be your "agent." You can also use the Power of Attorney for Health Care to tell your agent what your wishes are regarding life-sustaining treatments.

You must create the power of attorney while you are still able to make decisions for yourself. You cannot create a power of attorney after an injury or illness prevents you from making your own decisions. This means that you must be mentally competent to create a power of attorney and understand what you are signing. Learn more about how to set up a Power of Attorney for Health Care. 

The person you choose to make decisions for you under the power of attorney is your agent. You are the principal, or the person for whom the decisions are made. The agent is usually a spouse, a close friend, or a trusted relative. 

In Illinois, you can also choose a backup agent, or successor agent, in case your first choice is not available to make health care decisions for you when the time comes. 

Generally, an agent for a Power of Attorney for Health Care must be:

• Over the age of 18,
• Able to make his or her own decisions, and
• Someone other than your primary health care provider (i.e. your doctor or caregiver).

Some paid caregiver agreements do not allow paid caregivers to act as agents. Many people pick a family member to act as their agent. However, you don’t have to pick someone in your family. Your agent can also be a(n):

• Friend,
• Unmarried partner,
• Trusted advisor, or
• Neighbor.

The important thing is to pick someone you know well and trust. The individual must be willing to act for you and make decisions if you need help with your medical care. 

Agents don't have to act just because they are named. So, you want to make sure the agent is willing to accept the responsibility and take action. Before you name your agent, talk to that person. Confirm that they are willing to act for you. You should also carefully discuss the agent’s responsibilities and your wishes related to the power of attorney. These steps will ensure that your agent follows your instructions and makes decisions that are based on your wishes. 

If the person you choose as an agent decides to act as your agent, they must act in good faith for your benefit. They must use due care, competence, and diligence. Also, they must follow your wishes as much as they can.

The agent you choose doesn’t have to be local. The agent doesn't even have to be a resident of Illinois. However, in the event of an emergency, it is helpful if the agent lives nearby.

You cannot have more than one agent acting at the same time. In Illinois, if you want to name more than one agent, you must make one of them your primary agent. If that agent dies, can’t make decisions for you, or refuses to act, then your second agent (the “successor agent”) would act for you. Naming successor agents is generally a good idea because sometimes an agent becomes sick and can't handle decisions for you. Or, the agent could decide they do not want to handle the decisions.

You decide how much power to give the agent. You can give the agent permission to make all of your health care decisions. Or you can give the agent the power to act only in specific situations. Your agent can prove they have power of attorney by presenting an electronic copy of the executed document.

A few examples of possible decisions your agent can make include:

• Health care choices,
• Medical treatment,
• Admitting you to a hospital or other facility,
• Discharging you from a hospital or other facility,
• Making end-of-life decisions,
• Authorizing an autopsy, organ donation, or donation of your body to medical research, and
• Deciding what happens to your body when you die.

Your agent can also:

• Talk with doctors or other health care providers about your condition,
• See medical records and approve who else can see them,
• Give permission for medical tests, medicines, surgery, or other treatment,
• Choose where you receive care and who provides it,
• Accept, withdraw, or decline treatments designed to keep you alive if you are near death or not likely to recover,
• Decide to donate your organs or whole body if you have not already made this decision yourself,
• Decide what to do with your remains if you have not already made plans, and
• Talk with your loved ones for help with decisions.

You may also limit the decisions that your agent may make for you. For example, some types of treatment might be against your religious beliefs. If so, you can prevent the agent from allowing that treatment by saying so in the power of attorney.

If you are giving someone power of attorney for health care, you may also want to look into giving someone power of attorney for property. A power of attorney for property covers your finances. Someone with power of attorney for property can handle your money and make financial decisions for you. This includes filing your taxes, making sure your rent or mortgage is paid, and hiring a lawyer if you need one. 

The principal or the agent can end a health care power of attorney at any time. The way to end it depends on whether the person who wants to end it is the principal or the agent. 

If you made the power of attorney, you are the principal. As the principal, you can end your Power of Attorney for Health Care by:

• Destroying the document,
• Writing a letter,
• Making an oral statement or other expression, or
• Electronic destruction.

Learn more about each way to end or revoke your Power of Attorney for Health Care below.

Destroying the document

The principal can end a Power of Attorney for Health Care by destroying, burning, or tearing the document and any copies. Doing this must show an intent to end the relationship.

For example, tearing a small corner off the document won’t show an intent to end the relationship. But tearing the document in half or into pieces will show an intent to end the power of attorney relationship.

Writing a letter

The principal can end the Power of Attorney for Health Care by writing a Notice of Revocation. The Notice should be notarized.

Oral statement or other expression

A principal can end a Power of Attorney for Health Care by saying out loud that they want the relationship to end. The principal must do this in front of a witness who is at least 18 years old. The witness must sign and date a writing saying that the principal made the oral statement.

Electronic Destruction

An electronic Power of Attorney for Health Care can be revoked following certain technological standards, including ones that meet requirements for digital or electronic signatures.

Learn more about ending a Power of Attorney for Health Care.

Delayed revocation

When you create your Power of Attorney, you can choose a 30-day delay of any future revocation of the power of attorney. This means if you choose to revoke or destroy the power of attorney in the future, you will have 30 days before the revocation is official to change your mind. Electing to add a 30-day period for reflection could prevent you from making a decision you might regret later.

An agent may refuse to act on behalf of the principal for any reason. As an agent, you can end a Power of Attorney for Health Care by resigning. The agent can end the power of attorney by creating a letter of resignation. The letter should be notarized.

The principal can make changes to their existing Power of Attorney for Health Care. The principal can ask someone who is at least 18 years old to help them with this. The changes must be made in writing, signed, and dated.