Quickly create your Kansas health care directive

You can complete FindLaw’s attorney-created health care directive form in less than an hour at home. Our guided process takes you through a few easy steps and includes a free HIPAA release form. You’ll be able to download, print and sign your documents in no time.

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Reliable and quick Kansas health care directives

If you are ever hospitalized and unable to communicate your wishes, your family members and medical providers may have to make medical decisions for you that you would not have wanted. With a health care directive, you can make your own choices about future medical issues such as the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment. In addition to giving you peace of mind, this can spare your loved ones from having to make difficult choice on your behalf.

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Last updated: January 25, 2022

Written by:

Kimberly Lekman, Esq.

Contributing Author

Reviewed by:

John Devendorf, Esq.

Contributing Author

Kansas health care directive options to suit your needs

Health Care Directive
For One Person

A do-it-yourself health care directive that’s easy to personalize.

$39

What’s included:

Step-by-step guided process

A health care directive tailored to your needs

Attorney-approved document compliant with your state’s laws

Free HIPAA release form

Free changes and revisions to your document for up to a full year after purchase

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Estate Planning Package
For One person

All the forms you need to create a personal estate plan

$135

What’s included:

Last will and testament

Health care directive

Power of attorney

Free HIPAA release form

A comprehensive plan — for less

Free changes and revisions for up to one year after purchase

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How it works

Create your health care directive in under an hour

Create an account

Create a secure account which is accessible through an easy dashboard you can access any time

Gather information

Decide who will be your health care agent/proxy, which treatments you would request or refuse and release your records

Complete your document

Answer all questions, then we’ll generate your digital documents for downloading, printing, and signing

Make it legal

Print and sign your document according to instructions. Give copies to your doctors and agent/proxy

What’s next to make my Kansas health care directive valid?

Follow these steps:

Make decisions on your medical care

A health care directive is a legal document you can use to make your wishes about medical care known. In your health care directive, you will specify whether you would request the withdrawal of life-sustaining procedures in the event of a terminal condition. This is a difficult decision to make and will depend on your personal preferences and beliefs. If you have any trouble with this choice, it can help to discuss it with a trusted doctor and your loved ones.

Choose your health care agent

Under chapter 58 of the Kansas statutes, you have the option of naming someone to make health care decisions for you if you become unable to make them for yourself. This person is known as an “attorney-in-fact.” People commonly refer to this person as a “health care agent.” This person does not need to be an attorney but should be someone who knows you well. Many people choose a close family member like a spouse, sibling, or adult child as their agent.

The document you will use to name a health care agent is called a durable power of attorney for health care decisions (a “POA”). This is another type of advance directive you may wish to have in addition to your health care directive.

If you select a health care agent, make sure to choose someone who is familiar with your health care wishes and is willing to assert them to your doctors and family members. You may want to choose someone who lives nearby and will be available at short notice.

Sign your health care directive

To make your Kansas health care directive legally valid, you must sign and date it or direct someone to do so on your behalf and in your presence. You must also have your health care directive witnessed. Under the Kansas Natural Death Act, you can fulfill the witnessing requirement in two ways. One option is to sign your health care directive in front of a notary public. As an alternative, you can sign in the presence of two witnesses who are at least 18 years old.

There are a few restrictions on your choice of witnesses. The following individuals may not witness your health care directive:

Someone who signed your document on your behalf
Anyone who is related to you through blood or marriage
Anyone who might inherit from you
People who are financially responsible for your medical care

These restrictions may eliminate most of your close friends and family from acting as witnesses. For this reason, it is often more convenient in Kansas to notarize your health care directive rather than having it witnessed.

Distribute your health care directive

After you have properly signed your document, you need to make sure that the right people have copies of it. If you named a health care agent, you should give them a copy to help them understand your end-of-life medical treatment wishes. You should also give a copy to your health care provider so that they can make it part of your medical record. To make sure that loved ones have access to your document if necessary, you should put a copy in a secure place that a trusted person knows about.

Update your advance directives

You should make sure to update your estate planning documents from time to time to ensure that they remain in line with your preferences. Whenever you go through a significant life event, you may want to review your estate plan.

Major life events that could cause you to reconsider your estate planning choices (including your health care directive) include:

Marriage or divorce
A new diagnosis
An interstate move

In the case of marriage or divorce, you may wish to change your health care agent. If you have recently relocated to a new state, it’s a good idea to create a new health care directive that reflects state law.

You may want to speak with a lawyer if:

Your family disagrees with your medical choices
You don’t know who to appoint as your agent
You have questions about life prolonging measures
You want legal review of your completed document

Find a local estate planning lawyer

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Kansas health care directive commonly asked questions

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What are the legal requirements of a Kansas health care directive?

To comply with Kansas law, there are certain basic requirements your health care directive must meet:

You must be an adult when you sign.
The document must be in writing.
You must sign and date it or direct someone to do so for you.
There must be two adult witnesses present when you sign, or it must be notarized.

Your health care directive should also be substantially in the same format as the one provided by Kansas statutes. However, it can contain additional instructions. If you create your health care directive through FindLaw, you will receive an attorney-approved document that is customized to you and tailored to Kansas laws.

What is the difference between a “will” and a “living will?”

A last will and testament (a “will”) is the key estate planning document. You can use a will to describe how you would like your assets to be distributed after your death. If you have minor children, you can name guardians for them through your will. But you cannot use a will to address health care issues. To specify your medical treatment preferences, you will need a health care directive.

A living will, also known as a health care directive, is a legal document that you can use to make health care choices in advance. Through your health care directive, you can make your wishes known on the issue of life-sustaining treatment in the event of a terminal condition. A health care directive is not effective after your death, and you cannot use it to provide for the distribution of your assets. A good estate plan can contain both a will and a health care directive.

Can I have both a health care agent and a health care directive?

Yes. It can be helpful to have both a health care agent and a health care directive. A health care agent will have the ability to make health care decisions for you in the event that you become medically incapacitated. If you become incapacitated, you might be able to recover but you cannot give informed consent about your own treatments. At that point, your health care agent’s legal duty would be to make the treatment choices that would be in your best interest.

If there are specific treatments you do not want your health care agent to be able to consent to, you can limit your agent’s powers as you see fit. You just need to make those specific limitations clear in your POA document.

On the other hand, a health care directive only becomes effective in Kansas in the event of a terminal condition. So, if you are ever medically incapacitated but not terminally ill, your health care agent can make the medical choices that they believe you would have wanted under the circumstances.

What happens if my doctor refuses to honor my health care directive?

Health care providers are under a legal obligation to comply with the provisions of your health care directive if they are aware of its existence. If your doctor is unwilling to carry out the terms of your health care directive, Kansas law requires them to transfer you to another doctor. If they do not follow the directions in your health care directive or transfer you to another doctor, they can face disciplinary measures for unprofessional conduct.

How can I revoke my health care directive?

You have the right to change your mind and revoke your health care directive at any time. You can use any of the following methods to legally revoke your document:

Create a written revocation. You need to sign and date this document or direct someone to do so for you.
Tear up, burn, or otherwise physically destroy your health care directive with the intention to revoke it
Make a verbal statement declaring your intention to revoke

If you perform a revocation through a verbal statement, there must be at least one witness present who is 18 years old or older. The witness must sign and date a written confirmation of the revocation. If you happen to be hospitalized at the time, you need to make sure that the attending physician receives the revocation. The revocation will not become effective until they receive a copy of it.

Although a verbal revocation is legally sufficient under Kansas law, it is safer to create a written revocation. That way, you will know that the written documentation of your health care directive is correct and reflects your wishes.

To revoke your health care directive through writing, you should consider creating a new health care directive that revokes all prior ones.

Complex family situation? Need additional guidance?

Contact a local estate planning attorney.