Your health care agent is the person who makes medical decisions for you if you cannot make them yourself. This article helps you choose that person.
Filling in your questionnaire now? The help for the health care page is here for Washington and for Oregon.
If you live in Oregon Oregon calls this person your “Health Care Representative.” You name them in your Advance Directive, the Oregon document that records your health care wishes.
Why name someone
If you cannot speak for yourself, someone has to talk with your doctors and make choices. Naming a person lets you decide who that is. It also gives that person clear legal authority, so your family and doctors know who to turn to.
Even if you have no strong views about treatment, naming someone you trust is worth doing.
What your health care agent can do
Your agent acts only when you cannot make or share your own decisions. Your documents set the limits, but an agent can usually:
- Agree to or refuse treatment: Such as surgery, medication, and other care.
- Make decisions about life support, if your documents allow it. Life support means treatment that keeps you alive when you would otherwise die soon, such as CPR, a breathing machine, or tube feeding.
- Work with your doctor on medical orders, such as a POLST form or a do-not-resuscitate order.
- See your medical records and talk with your care team.
- Choose where you receive care, such as at home, in a hospital, or in a care facility.
- Choose or change your doctors and other care providers.
Your agent must follow your wishes when they know them. When they do not, they must decide what is best for you, based on your values.
After your death, your agent can also act on your organ donation wishes. In Washington, your agent can also share your wishes about the care of your body. In Oregon, decisions about your body belong to the person you name in your Disposition of Remains.
If you do not name anyone
State law sets a default list of who decides for you. The list may not include the person you would choose. An unmarried partner, for example, comes last, if at all. For more on planning as unmarried partners, see this article.
The order is:
- A guardian appointed by a court
- A spouse or registered domestic partner
- Adult children
- Parents
- Adult brothers and sisters
- Adult grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and aunts and uncles who know you well, in that order
- A close friend who signs a statement that they know you and your values
When several people share a place on the list, such as your adult children, they must all agree. If someone higher on the list says no, a person lower down cannot say yes.
For decisions about life support, the order is:
- A guardian appointed by a court
- A spouse
- An adult the others on this list agree on
- A majority of your adult children
- Either parent
- A majority of your brothers and sisters
- Another adult relative or a friend
If none of them can be found, your doctor may decide.
Oregon law sets this order only for decisions about life support.
Naming an agent, and a backup, avoids all of this.
Choosing the right person
Look for someone who:
- Knows your values and will follow your wishes, even if they would choose differently
- Stays calm under pressure and can make hard decisions
- Can be reached quickly in an emergency, and can get to you if needed
- Speaks up clearly with doctors and family, and asks questions
- Is willing to serve. Ask them before you name them.
Medical knowledge can help, but it is not required. Judgment and trust matter more.
Your health care agent does not have to be the person who handles your money. Some people choose different people for different roles. For more on choosing people for each role, see this article.
Name a backup
Name at least one alternate in case your first choice cannot serve when needed. Without one, the default list above may apply.
If you have young children
If you cannot act and your children’s other parent cannot either, someone needs authority to care for your children right away, including their medical care.
The questionnaire asks: Would you like your Health Care Agent to also be able to make decisions for your minor child(ren) if you are incapacitated?
If your agent is not the right person for your children, you can tell your attorney you want to name someone else for them. This covers a short time. For a longer one, a court may appoint a guardian.
Oregon handles this with a separate document. It lets a person you choose care for your children, including their medical care, for up to six months at a time. Ask your attorney whether you need one. For a longer time, a court may appoint a guardian.
Before you choose, think about whether this person:
- Is someone your children know and trust
- Lives close enough to keep school and routines steady
- Has the time and energy to care for children
- Would make medical choices for your children that you agree with
For choosing a long-term guardian, see this article.
Talk with the person you choose
Tell them what matters to you: how you feel about life support, pain relief, and where you want to receive care. Tell them where your documents are kept. A short talk now makes their job much easier later.
Want to read more?
These articles are optional.
- Your health care wishes: Questions to think through before you decide. See this article for Washington or for Oregon.
- Choosing people for your other roles: Who to name to handle your money and your estate. See this article.
- Glossary: Common estate planning terms. See this article.
- Financial power of attorney: What your Financial Agent can do and how to choose one. See this article.