A healthcare directive is a legal document that specifies your wishes regarding medical treatment if you become unable to communicate them yourself. It may also designate a trusted person to make medical decisions on your behalf. Without one, your family may face agonizing decisions about your care without any guidance about what you would have wanted, and disagreements among family members about the right course of treatment can create conflict during an already devastating time. At Tollison & Webb P.A., we draft healthcare directives for individuals and families throughout North Mississippi as part of a complete estate plan and as standalone documents for clients who need them.

Types of Healthcare Directives in Mississippi

Advance Healthcare Directive / Living Will

An advance healthcare directive, sometimes called a living will, is a written document that expresses your wishes about specific medical treatments in the event you are unable to communicate. It typically addresses end-of-life care decisions such as the use of life-sustaining treatment, artificial nutrition and hydration, resuscitation, and palliative care. Mississippi law recognizes advance healthcare directives and requires healthcare providers to follow them when properly executed. A living will removes the burden of these decisions from your family and ensures your wishes are known and legally documented.

Healthcare Proxy / Medical Power of Attorney

A healthcare proxy, also called a medical power of attorney or durable power of attorney for healthcare, designates a person to make medical decisions on your behalf if you are unable to make them yourself. Unlike a living will, which addresses specific treatment decisions in advance, a healthcare proxy gives your designated agent authority to respond to medical situations as they arise, making decisions your living will may not have anticipated. The two documents work together and we typically recommend executing both as part of a complete healthcare planning package.

Do Not Resuscitate Orders

A Do Not Resuscitate order, or DNR, is a medical order directing healthcare providers not to perform CPR if your heart stops or you stop breathing. Unlike an advance directive, a DNR is a physician’s order rather than a legal document and must be executed with your doctor’s involvement. We advise clients on how a DNR relates to their advance directive and healthcare proxy and ensure their documents are consistent with their wishes regarding resuscitation.

Why Healthcare Directives Matter at Every Age

Healthcare directives are not only for the elderly. Unexpected illness, accidents, and medical emergencies can affect anyone at any age, and the decisions these documents address can arise without warning. A young adult who becomes incapacitated in an accident has the same need for a healthcare proxy and advance directive as an elderly person facing a terminal illness. Every adult benefits from having these documents in place, and the process of executing them is straightforward once you have thought through your wishes.

Choosing Your Healthcare Proxy

The person you designate as your healthcare proxy has significant authority over your medical care during a period when you cannot speak for yourself. Choose someone who knows your values and wishes, who can handle the emotional weight of making difficult medical decisions, and who will advocate for your wishes even under pressure from medical providers or other family members. It is also important to name an alternate in case your first choice is unavailable. We advise clients on what the healthcare proxy role entails and the qualities to consider when making this selection.

Executing a Valid Healthcare Directive in Mississippi

Mississippi law has specific requirements for the valid execution of healthcare directives. The document must be signed by the principal and witnessed by two adults who are not the principal’s healthcare provider, not an employee of the principal’s healthcare provider, and not a beneficiary of the principal’s estate. We prepare healthcare directives that meet Mississippi’s execution requirements and supervise the signing to ensure the documents are legally valid and will be honored by healthcare providers when needed.

Keeping Your Documents Accessible

A healthcare directive is only useful if it can be found and accessed when needed. We advise clients to provide copies to their healthcare proxy, their primary care physician, and any specialists involved in their care, and to keep a copy in a place where family members can access it quickly in an emergency. Mississippi maintains a registry for advance directives that allows healthcare providers to access your document electronically. We advise clients on registration and storage so their documents are available when they matter most.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a living will and a healthcare proxy?

A living will expresses your specific wishes about medical treatments in advance, particularly regarding end-of-life care. A healthcare proxy designates a person to make medical decisions on your behalf for situations your living will may not have addressed. They serve complementary purposes and we recommend executing both. Together they give your family and healthcare providers both your expressed wishes and a designated decision-maker for situations those wishes do not specifically cover.

Can my family override my healthcare directive?

No. A validly executed healthcare directive is legally binding on your healthcare providers in Mississippi. Your family members do not have the authority to override it. This is one of the most important reasons to execute these documents, since family members who might disagree with your wishes do not have legal standing to countermand them once they are properly documented.

Can I change my healthcare directive after I execute it?

Yes, at any time while you have capacity. You can revoke or amend a healthcare directive by executing a new one, by providing written notice of revocation to your healthcare proxy and providers, or in some cases by verbal revocation communicated to your physician. If you update your directive, make sure all copies of the old version are replaced with the new one, including copies held by your physician and any registry where the old document was filed.

What happens if I become incapacitated without a healthcare directive?

Without a healthcare directive, medical decisions are made by your family members or, if there is disagreement, potentially by the court. Mississippi law provides a priority order for family members to make decisions on your behalf, but this process can be slow, contentious, and may not reflect your actual wishes. A healthcare proxy eliminates the uncertainty by designating the specific person you trust to make these decisions, and a living will provides them with guidance about what you would want.

Does my healthcare directive from another state work in Mississippi?

Mississippi generally recognizes healthcare directives executed in other states if they were valid under the law of the state where they were executed. However, if you have moved to Mississippi, executing a new directive that complies with Mississippi’s specific requirements is the most reliable way to ensure your wishes are honored without any question about validity. We advise clients who have relocated to Mississippi on whether their existing documents need to be updated.

Contact an Estate Planning Attorney in North Mississippi

If you need a healthcare directive, advance directive, or medical power of attorney drafted, contact Tollison & Webb P.A. to schedule a consultation. We help individuals and families throughout North Mississippi put the right documents in place.

Call (662) 234-7070 or contact us online.