Quickly create your Minnesota advance health care directive template

You can complete FindLaw’s attorney-created health care directive forms 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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In the unfortunate event that you are ever suffering from a serious illness or injury, you may become unable to make your own health care decisions. Unless you have created a health care directive, your loved ones and doctors may not know which treatments you would want. If you would like to make your medical choices clear in advance of an incapacitating medical condition, you can do so through a health care directive. This may even help to prevent strife among your loved ones over conflicting opinions on your medical treatment.

This page also contains a free Minnesota Advance Health Care Directive Template in PDF format that can be saved and printed.

Findlaw provides everything you need:

Last updated: January 25, 2022

Written by:

Kimberly Lekman, Esq.

Contributing Author

Reviewed by:

Tim Kelly, J.D.

Contributing Author

Minnesota health care directive options that work for you

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 Minnesota health care directive valid?

Follow these steps:

Make medical treatment decisions

Your health care directive is a type of advance health care directive (“advance directive“) that you can use to make advance decisions about your medical care. Your physicians can then refer to your health care directive if you become unable to communicate your health care choices.

If there are certain treatments that you would like to request or reject, you can specify this in your health care directive. For many people, it’s important to make their wishes clear about their treatment in the event of a terminal condition. Through your health care directive, you can state whether you would request or refuse life-sustaining treatment like intravenous hydration, feeding tubes, and others in the event of a terminal condition.

Although it’s unpleasant to think about this scenario, it can give you peace of mind to know that you have made your own choices on these medical possibilities just in case. You may even spare your loved ones from conflict over your future treatment choices if you make your medical decision in advance. If you have any trouble making these difficult decisions, it may help to discuss them with a trusted doctor or your loved ones.

Choose a health care agent

In Minnesota, you have the option of naming a trusted person to make medical choices for you if you become unable to make them for yourself. This person is legally known as a health care proxy if you name them through your health care directive. Alternatively, you can name them in a separate advance directive called a health care power of attorney. In that case, they are legally called a health care agent. But you might hear people using these terms interchangeably.

If you would like to name an alternate agent or proxy, you can make this clear in your health care directive or power of attorney document. The alternate will be able to make medical decisions for you if your first choice becomes unable to. However, it’s not a good idea to name both a health care proxy and a health care agent.

Minnesota law states that if your designation of proxy and agent are in conflict, the most recently executed designation will be honored. If you want to have a backup agent or proxy, you should simply name an alternate on the same document you used to name your first choice of agent or proxy.

A proxy or agent’s duty is to carry out the instructions of your health care directive. If a medical scenario arises that you have not provided instructions on, your health care agent should make decisions in good faith, and according to your best interests.

When you select a health care agent or proxy, you should choose someone who you trust with broad authority over your medical decisions. They will be able to make any health care choices you would have been able to make for yourself, and they will have access to your medical records if necessary. Many people choose a close loved one such as a spouse, sibling, parent, or adult child for this important responsibility. You should make sure that your health care agent understands your health care wishes and is willing to take on this responsibility before selecting them.

Sign your health care directive

Under chapter 145B of Minnesota’s statutes, you must sign your health care directive to make it legally valid. There must be two witnesses or a notary public present at the time of your signing. They must then sign the document to verify that you are signing voluntarily, and that they are not legally excluded from witnessing your document.

Neither of your witnesses can be anyone who could inherit from you. Further, your health care proxy cannot act as a witness or notary to your document.

Distribute your advance directives

After properly signing your documents, it’s important that you distribute them to the right people. You should give copies to your health care agent to help them understand your health care wishes and end-of-life care preferences.

Next, you should provide your advance directives to your healthcare providers so that they can enter them into your medical record.

Finally, you should give your close loved ones copies of your advance directives. This will help them understand your medical preferences in case they ever accompany you during an emergency medical situation.

Update your advance directives

You should review your advance directives at least every few years to make sure they continue to reflect your wishes. As time passes and your life changes, you may need to update your estate plan (including your advance directives). For instance, if you get married, divorced, or complete a long-distance move, you may want to change your health care agent. A new diagnosis or a simple change of heart could make you change your mind about treatment selections in your advance directives.

Regardless of the reason, you have the right to update or change your advance directives at any time. Rest assured that when you create a health care directive with FindLaw, you can make unlimited changes to it at no additional charge for a full year after purchase.

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

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Commonly asked questions about Minnesota health care directives

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Is a living will the same as a will?

No. Wills and living wills have confusingly similar names, but they serve very different purposes.

A last will and testament (a “will”) is the foundation of a good estate plan. You can use a living will, also known as a health care directive, to provide for the distribution of your assets after your death to the beneficiaries of your choice. If you have minor children, you can name guardians for them in your will. But you cannot use a will to describe your medical choices during your lifetime.

A living will is not a will in the traditional sense. You cannot use it to describe how you would like your assets to be divided up after your death. Instead, a health care directive is a legal document you use to specify the types of treatments you would reject or refuse if you became incapable of expressing your wishes for health care.

A good estate plan can contain both a will and a health care directive. Your health care directive covers your health care choices, and your will describes how you want your assets to be allocated after your passing.

Is a health care directive from another state valid in Minnesota?

Yes. Minnesota law provides that an out-of-state health care directive is legally valid in Minnesota. However, it must substantially comply with Minnesota’s health care laws.

If you have moved to Minnesota from out of state, it may be a good time to update your estate plan (including your advance directives). When you create advance directives that are tailored to Minnesota law, you can rest easy knowing that they will not contain provisions that are unlawful in your new state of residence. You can get a Minnesota health care directive through FindLaw’s easy step-by-step process in about 30 minutes.

When do the instructions in my health care directive go into effect?

Your doctors will follow the instructions in your health care directive if you become unable to give informed consent about your own medical options. In other words, if you cannot speak for yourself, or cannot understand your treatment choices due to your medical condition, your doctors will look to your advance directives for instructions on your medical care. If you have appointed a health care agent or proxy, that individual will carry out the terms of your health care directive and make treatment decisions that are not covered by your advance directives.

Under Minnesota law, your medical staff must consult with you directly on your health care options while you are still capable of communicating your choices. So, your health care providers cannot act on the provisions in your advance directives against your objections. They will communicate with you and request your consent for all procedures while you are able to express your decisions yourself.

Do my doctors have to comply with the instructions in my advance directives?

Yes, advance directives are binding legal documents. Your medical staff has a legal duty to follow the instructions in your advance directives, even if it means transferring you to another physician. To ensure that your medical professionals honor your wishes, you need to make sure that they are aware of your advance directives and have copies of them.

Under Minnesota law, your physician has a responsibility to tell you if they are unwilling to honor your advance directives while you are still mentally competent. It is then your choice to transfer to another physician if you choose to do so.

However, if your physician did not inform you of their unwillingness to comply with your advance directives while you were mentally competent, they have a duty to transfer you. If you become medically incapacitated, they must take reasonable steps to move you to another physician.

Does a divorce revoke my advance directives?

Not completely. A divorce does not revoke the selections in your health care directive. But if you named your former spouse as your health care agent or proxy, a divorce or annulment will revoke this designation. The exception to this would be if your health care directive or power of attorney document specifies that the designation should survive divorce or annulment.

After going through a divorce, you should think about reviewing and updating your advance directives. If your former spouse was your agent or proxy, you will probably want to name a new one. Further, you may find yourself rethinking certain unrelated health care choices due to this major life event. If you create your health care directive with FindLaw, you can relax knowing that updates are free of charge for a full year after purchase.

How can I revoke my health care directive?

It is your right to cancel or revoke the choices in your health care directive at any time, regardless of your physical or mental condition. Under Minnesota law, you can revoke your health care directive in any manner of your choice. This could include tearing up, burning, or otherwise physically destroying all hard copies of your health care directive. Another option is to revoke your health care directive through a new writing.

A good method of revocation is to create a new health care directive. That way, you will create a record of your updated wishes that your loved ones and medical professionals can reference.

You can create a new health care directive that revokes your prior ones with FindLaw’s easy step-by-step process in about half an hour without even needing to leave the comfort of home.

Complex family situation? Need additional guidance?

Contact a local estate planning attorney.