What Is a Power of Attorney?
A power of attorney is a legal document that allows you to give someone else the authority to act on your behalf. The person who makes a power of attorney is known as the principal, and the person who receives authority from the principal is called the agent or an attorney-in-fact.
In Connecticut, your agent can have broad or limited powers and can manage your money or property. When your agent uses your power of attorney, their actions and decisions will be as binding on you as if you made them yourself.
What Is an Appointment of Health Care Representative?
In Connecticut, an appointment of health care representative is a legal document in which a person (the declarant) names another person (the health care representative) to make health care decisions for the declarant when the declarant becomes incapacitated.
An appointment of health care representative is one of two advance directives (also called advance health care directives). The other advance directive is the living will. A living will is a document that you can use to state your health care wishes, including the use or withdrawal of life support.
A living will and appointment of health care representative can be separate documents, or they can be combined into one advance directive document.
How To Get a Connecticut Power of Attorney or Appointment of Health Care Representative
You can hire an attorney to create a power of attorney or appointment of health care representative, but you also can make one yourself using a form. If you decide to create your own, follow these steps to ensure your document is valid in Connecticut:
1. Choose how much power you want to give
You can use a power of attorney to give your agent limited or broad authority to act for you. If you are planning for your own incapacity, you should give your agent broad enough powers to pay your bills and care for your property.
However, you can create more than one power of attorney if you want someone to have authority for a limited purpose. For example, many people give a financial adviser a power of attorney to manage their investments. You also could give someone a power of attorney to negotiate and complete a sale of property for you.
When creating an appointment of health care representative, your representative will have broad authority to make health care decisions. However, you can give them treatment instructions by creating an advance directive that includes both an appointment of health care representative and living will.
2. Choose your agent and health care representative
When choosing your agent and health care representative, you should pick people who are trustworthy. Think of the people whom you would trust with your most precious property and your life. These are the people you should consider to be your agent or health care representative.
Your agent also should be wise with money, able to understand complicated documents, and comfortable speaking with financial and legal professionals. You can name co-agents to serve at the same time, but this is usually not a good idea because it can lead to confusion and disagreements between your agents.
Your health care representative should understand your health care wishes and be willing to make difficult decisions about your health. The following people cannot be your health care representative:
- An operator, administrator, or employee of a health care facility or nursing home where you are a patient or resident unless they are your relative
- An administer or employee of a government agency that is financially responsible for your medical care unless they are your relative
- Your attending physician or your advance practice registered nurse
You also should name one or more successor health care representatives. If you want an agent to act while you are incapacitated, you also should name successor agents for your power of attorney. Successor agents and health care representatives will be able to act if your first choice is unable or unwilling to serve.
3. Find a reliable form
Your form needs to comply with Connecticut law. If you get a generic form that is not tailored to Connecticut law, you could end up with an invalid power of attorney or appointment of health care representative. We offer these easy-to-complete forms specifically tailored to Connecticut law and your individual situation.
The Connecticut Uniform Power of Attorney Act includes two forms for powers of attorney and forms for an advance directive and appointment of health care representative. The two power of attorney forms are the statutory short form power of attorney and the statutory long-form power of attorney.
If you use a power attorney form from the statutes, you should use the statutory short form. The long-form is more complicated and includes the authority to create estate planning documents. You should consult with an estate planning attorney licensed in Connecticut before using the statutory long-form power of attorney.
4. Sign your form with witnesses
You must sign and date your appointment of health care representative in the presence of two adult witnesses. Your health care representative cannot be a witness. There are additional rules for choosing witnesses for people who reside in facilities operated or licensed by the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services or the Department of Developmental Services.
You must sign and date your power of attorney or direct another person to sign in your name (in your presence). Two witnesses must be present for the signing. You also need to acknowledge your signature before a notary public.
5. Deliver your form to the right people
Your power of attorney and appointment of health care representative are useless if no one else knows where they are. You should make sure your agent has a copy of your power of attorney and that your health care representative has a copy of the appointment of health care representative.
You also should consider giving your power of attorney to banks or businesses you want your agent to deal with. Your primary physician and facilities where you receive medical treatment should have copies of your appointment of health care representative.
