Indiana Healthcare Power of Attorney Requirements
Unusually, an Indiana Advance Directive appointing a Health Care Representative can take effect the moment you sign it, since Indiana treats the incapacity trigger most states require as an optional election you write into the document, not a default the law imposes.
Introduction
Unusually, an Indiana Advance Directive appointing a Health Care Representative can take effect the moment you sign it, since Indiana treats the incapacity trigger most states require as an optional election you write into the document, not a default the law imposes. This document lets you name a trusted adult, your health care representative, to make health care decisions for you if you are ever unable to make them yourself. Since 2021, this is Indiana's single governing document for that purpose, created under Indiana Code Title 16, Article 36, Chapter 7, which replaced three older, separate documents: the appointment of health care representative, the durable power of attorney for health care, and the living will declaration. Indiana does not call this document a power of attorney, and as of December 31, 2022, health care powers can no longer be granted through Indiana's general power of attorney at all. If a power of attorney signed after that date tries to include health care authority, that portion is void by law, even though the rest of the power of attorney still works for money and property matters. Indiana gives you two ways to make the document valid: sign it in front of two adult witnesses, at least one of whom cannot be your spouse or another relative, or sign it before a notary. You also choose, in the document itself, whether your representative's authority begins immediately or only once your incapacity is determined and noted in your medical records; most people choose the incapacity triggered option. Indiana does not require a specific state form, and there is no state registry to file the document with. You keep the signed original and give copies to your physician, your representative, and any successor representatives.
Key Things to Know
- 1
Unlike most states, Indiana lets this document take effect the moment you sign it: your Advance Directive appoints a trusted adult as your health care representative to make health care decisions for you, and whether that authority starts immediately or waits for your incapacity is a choice you make in the document, not something Indiana law decides for you.
- 2
Indiana does not call this document a power of attorney. Since a 2021 law change, health care powers granted through a general Indiana power of attorney signed after December 31, 2022 are void (Indiana Code Section 30-5-5-16(e)).
- 3
You choose in the document whether your representative's authority begins immediately when you sign or only once your incapacity is determined and noted in your medical records; most people choose the incapacity triggered option.
- 4
Indiana law does not automatically bar your treating physician, another health care provider, or a facility employee from serving as your representative. If you want to exclude someone, you must name them in the document yourself (Indiana Code Section 16-36-7-28(a)).
- 5
You can sign in front of two adult witnesses, at least one of whom cannot be your spouse or another relative, or you can sign before a notary instead. You do not need both.
- 6
You can revoke the document at any time by signing a later advance directive, signing a written revocation, or, while you are not incapacitated, telling a health care provider in person that you are revoking it.
- 7
Indiana has no state registry for advance directives and no single mandatory state form. Keep the signed original and give copies to your physician, your representative, and any successor representatives.
- 8
This is a different document from Indiana's Durable (Financial) Power of Attorney, which covers money and property and, since 2022, cannot lawfully include health care powers at all.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Healthcare Power of Attorney in Indiana, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Healthcare Power of Attorney guide walks through them.
Open the Healthcare Power of Attorney guideCustomize your Healthcare Power of Attorney Template with DocDraft
Once your Healthcare Power of Attorney is ready, you can check whether it needs to be notarized in Indiana in about a minute, and notarize it online through DocDraft if it does.
Indiana Requirements for Healthcare Power of Attorney
The declarant designates a trusted adult as health care representative to make health care decisions when the declarant cannot communicate or decide, identified by full name and contact information. Since Senate Enrolled Act 204 (2021), this appointment is made within an advance directive under Indiana Code Title 16, Article 36, Chapter 7, not the older Indiana Code Section 16-36-1-7 appointment mechanism, which remains codified but is superseded for documents executed today.
An advance directive may name one or more successor health care representatives to act if the primary representative is unwilling, unable, or unavailable, and may state whether multiple representatives act individually, jointly, or by majority vote.
Except to the extent the declarant limits it, the health care representative has authority to make health care decisions for the declarant, subject always to the declarant's own right to act personally while competent.
Federal HIPAA regulations govern how the health care representative can be authorized to access the declarant's protected health information once the document is in effect.
Unless the document states otherwise, it takes effect immediately upon signing. Indiana law separately lets the declarant elect to make the representative's decision making authority effective only once the declarant's incapacity is determined and noted in the medical record, ending automatically if capacity is regained.
When the declarant elects to make the representative's authority effective only during incapacity, that incapacity must be determined and noted in the declarant's medical records before the representative may act, and the authority ends automatically if the declarant regains capacity.
An advance directive may state the declarant's preferences regarding life prolonging procedures and life sustaining treatment as part of the same document that appoints a health care representative.
The health care representative may make an anatomical gift on the declarant's behalf under Indiana's Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, consistent with the declarant's known wishes, unless the declarant's advance directive or another signed record expressly prohibits it.
The declarant may revoke the advance directive at any time by signing a later advance directive, signing a written revocation, or, while not incapacitated, orally telling a health care provider, in that provider's presence, that the directive is revoked in whole or in part. A representative's actions remain valid until the representative or a provider has actual knowledge of a valid revocation.
Current Indiana law requires signing in the presence of two adult witnesses, at least one of whom may not be the declarant's spouse or another relative, or signing before a notary instead.
Notarization is not merely recommended. It is one of two equally valid ways to execute an Indiana advance directive: sign and acknowledge the signature before a notarial officer, with no witnesses required, or sign in front of two adult witnesses instead.
An advance directive signed by a declarant who was located in another state or jurisdiction at the time of signing is treated as validly executed under Indiana law if the declarant was not incapacitated and the document complied with either Indiana's own signing requirements or the law of the jurisdiction where the declarant was located.
A health care representative must act consistent with the declarant's known wishes, which may include religious and personal beliefs stated in the advance directive.
A health care provider who acts or declines to act in good faith reliance on the consent or refusal of an individual the provider believes is authorized to consent to health care is protected from criminal prosecution, civil liability, and professional disciplinary action on the ground that the consenting individual lacked authority or capacity.
Indiana law lets a health care provider or interested individual petition the probate court to make a health care decision or appoint a representative when the declarant is incapable of consenting and no authorized decision maker is reasonably available, willing, or acting in the declarant's best interest.
Facilities that participate in Medicare and Medicaid must inform patients of their rights under state law to make advance directives, including a health care representative appointment.
Does your Healthcare Power of Attorney need to be notarized in Indiana?
Whether a Healthcare Power of Attorney needs to be notarized depends on your state. Upload yours, pick your state, and get the current rule with the official source behind it, free and with no account. If yours does need a notary, online notarization is part of your DocDraft plan.
Check my Healthcare Power of AttorneyFrequently Asked Questions
A Health Care Representative Appointment is the health care advance directive Indiana uses, created under Indiana Code Title 16, Article 36, Chapter 7. It lets you name a trusted adult, called your health care representative, to make health care decisions for you if you ever become unable to make them yourself, including consenting to or refusing treatment and receiving your health information.
A Health Care Representative Appointment covers only health care decisions. Indiana's Durable Power of Attorney covers property and financial matters instead, and since December 31, 2022, it cannot lawfully grant health care powers at all. Any health care language written into a power of attorney signed after that date is void by law, even though the rest of the power of attorney still works. Before 2021, Indiana allowed health care powers inside a general power of attorney, but that route is now closed.
No, not necessarily. Indiana Code Section 16-36-7-28 lets you choose either of two options: sign in front of two adult witnesses, at least one of whom cannot be your spouse or another relative, or sign and acknowledge your signature before a notary. You do not need both a notary and witnesses.
Indiana law does not automatically prevent it. Unlike many states, Indiana has no statutory bar on a treating physician, another health care provider, or a facility employee serving as your health care representative. If you want to exclude your doctor or anyone else, you must specifically name that person as disqualified in your document, under Indiana Code Section 16-36-7-28(a).
No. Indiana does not operate a registry where you file your executed advance directive. The Indiana Department of Health maintains only a list of sample forms and general resources on its website. You keep the signed original yourself and give copies to your physician, your representative, and any successor representatives.
You can revoke it by signing a later advance directive, by signing a written revocation, or, as long as you have not been declared incapacitated, by orally telling a health care provider, in that provider's presence, that you are revoking it in whole or in part. Your representative's actions remain valid until your representative or provider actually learns of a valid revocation.