Make your health care wishes known
Create a Vermont health care directive with FindLaw’s attorney-created forms and easy step-by-step process.
Choose your Vermont health care directive options
Make your health care wishes known so you stay in control of your treatment with a health care directive. Ensure comprehensive protection for you and your loved ones and secure your future with an estate planning forms package.
Health Care Directive
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The benefits of having a health care directive in Vermont
Having a health care directive provides peace of mind for you and your loved ones. That is why this document is an essential part of any estate plan. The purpose of a health care directive is to spell out your wishes regarding emergency medical care, such as whether you wish to receive life-sustaining treatment following an accident that renders you unable to speak. It gives both you and your family well-deserved peace of mind.
FindLaw’s helps you create a reliable Vermont health care directive to protect your interests and reduce stress on your family and medical team.
Findlaw provides everything you need:
How it works
The process takes less than an hour, and you can complete it from the comfort of your home.
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
Plan for your future with confidence
This free guide will help you:
Learn the most common estate planning terms
Understand the essential estate planning tools
Gather critical information with an estate planning checklist
What’s next to make my Vermont health care directive valid?
Follow these steps:
Choose a health care agent
A health care agent is the person you appoint to be your medical advocate when you are unable to communicate on your own behalf. A health care agent’s job is to be aware of the provisions of your health care directive and to ensure that your wishes are carried out as you have stated them. Your health care agent should be trustworthy, decisive and a good advocate. This person should be steadfast and not easily influenced by the opinions of your friends and family.
You should also consider choosing an alternate agent. Your alternate agent will not have any power unless the person who has been selected as your primary agent is unable or unwilling to perform the duties you have requested.
Choose your medical treatment preferences
Having a health care directive allows you to make important health care decisions for yourself in advance. Imagine not being able to speak, being permanently unconscious, or not advocating for yourself. It is essential to have a health care directive as part of your medical records. That way you have already decided what should be done if the time comes when you are unable to speak.
The most important part of creating a health care directive is choosing your medical treatment preferences. Think about:
- Life-prolonging acts
- Admittance into a life-term care facility
- Admittance into a hospice care facility
- Wishes about resuscitation
- Withdrawal of life support
- The use of feeding tubes
- The use of blood transfusions
Frequently asked questions about health care directives in Vermont
A health care directive, also called a living will, is a legal document created to state a patient’s medical treatment preferences in the event of their incapacity. Incapacity means that the patient is either temporarily or permanently unconscious or is unable to speak. The advantages of having a health care directive include removing pressure from family members during an already trying time and knowing that your medical and moral wishes will be respected. It can also help your health care team make better and faster decisions about your medical care.
In Vermont, anyone can create a health care directive provided:
- The person who executed the health care directive is at least 18 years old
- The person making the health care directive is of sound mind
- The health care directive is signed by at least two adult witnesses
Everyone over 18 should have a health care directive regardless of family status or wealth. A health care directive is an essential legal document that speaks for you when you cannot. It is vital to make these types of decisions in case you become temporarily or permanently unconscious. You should create a health care directive if you are going into surgery or an extended hospital stay or going into a nursing home or long-term care facility. FindLaw’s do-it-yourself options help you create this important legal document in the comfort of your own home.
No, a health care directive and durable power of attorney are not the same things. A durable power of attorney is made to allow an agent to make general decisions about your welfare and a health care directive is specifically about health care during a time of incapacity. A durable power of attorney does not take the place of a health care directive. Your agent in your durable power of attorney will be able to take care of your financial affairs, your home, or other specific circumstances. A health care directive only has effect during the principal’s incapacity. A durable power of attorney may give the attorney-in-fact authority to make decisions even after the principal’s capacity is regained. If you wish to limit your agent’s control, a health care directive is the best way to go.
Vermont law does not require a person to hire an attorney to complete a legally valid health care directive. FindLaw’s forms help you create this document without the expense of hiring an attorney.
FindLaw is not a law firm, and the forms are not a substitute for the advice or services of an attorney. If you have complex family situations or would otherwise like a lawyer’s advice and review, please visit our directory to find a lawyer near you.
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