What Is an Alabama Advance Directive for Health Care?
An Alabama advance directive for health care is a legal document that helps you plan for your future medical care. It allows you to:
- Specify your health care wishes
- Name someone you trust to make medical decisions on your behalf if you are unable to do so yourself.
In Alabama, you must be at least 19 years old and capable of making your own decisions to create an advance directive for health care (AL Code § 22-8A-4). An Alabama advance directive for health care form includes the following:
- A living will specifies your wishes for life-sustaining treatment during serious medical situations.
- The appointment of a health care proxy, who can make health care decisions for you.
Note that this document does not take effect immediately. It only comes into effect when you are unable to understand or communicate your health care decisions yourself. Your physician must determine that you no longer have the ability to make medical decisions (AL Code § 22-8A-7). Once they do, your advance directive will be used, and both your doctor and health care proxy should follow your written instructions.
Parts of an Advance Directive for Health Care in Alabama
Under AL Code § 22-8A-4, an advance directive for health care in Alabama includes two main parts. Each part serves a different purpose.
I. Living Will
A living will allows you to state what medical treatment you want if you have a serious condition and cannot communicate your wishes yourself. As per AL Code § 22-8A-3, your living will may address situations such as:
- A terminal illness where an incurable condition is likely to result in death
- Permanent unconsciousness
- Use of life-sustaining treatment, such as machines or procedures that keep you alive
- Artificially provided nutrition and hydration, such as feeding tubes
You can specify if you want these treatments to continue, be withheld, or withdrawn completely. Under AL Code § 22-8A-9, withdrawing or withholding treatment is not suicide.
II. Appointment of a Health Care Proxy
The second part of an Alabama advance directive for healthcare form involves naming a health care proxy. This person is a trusted individual you select to make medical decisions for you when you are unable to make them yourself. Under AL Code § 22-8A-6, your proxy must:
- Comply with your instructions and carry out your intent.
- Follow all your medical wishes outlined in your advance directive.
If you haven’t appointed a health care proxy, Alabama law sets a priority list of people who may act as your surrogate decision maker (AL Code § 22-8A-11):
- Your spouse
- Your adult child
- One of your parents
- Your adult sibling
- Other adult relatives in order of kinship
AL Code § 22-8A-10 does not allow an advance directive to approve mercy killing, assisted suicide, or euthanasia.
Sample Alabama Advance Directive
Below is a sample Alabama advance directive for health care form. Review it to see all the information you’d need to include in yours. When you are ready, create yours using our guided questionnaire, then download your form as a PDF or Word document. Our form guides you through each step and ensures it meets Alabama’s legal requirements.
Signing Requirements for an Alabama Advance Directive
An Alabama advance directive for health care must be signed by you (the declarant) and witnessed by two adults. You must be mentally competent at the time you sign the form (AL Code § 22-8A-4). Alabama law places certain limits on who may act as a witness to prevent a conflict of interest. Your witnesses:
- Must be at least 19 years old
- Should not be your health care proxy
- Should not be related to you by blood or marriage
- Cannot be entitled to any part of your estate
- Cannot be directly financially responsible for your medical care
Notarization is not required for an advance directive in Alabama. If you choose to notarize your form, consider using Legal Templates’s free Alabama notary acknowledgment form to save time.
Under AL Code § 22-8A-9, signing an advance directive does not affect your life or health insurance. It can also not be required as a condition of receiving medical treatment.
Recording Your Alabama Advance Health Care Directive
Recording your advance directive in Alabama is not a requirement for the document to be valid. However, you may choose to record your document with the judge of probate in the county where you live. The recording fee is $5 plus any additional recording fees that may apply (AL Code § 22-8A-14).
Even if you do record your document, remember that it is still your responsibility to give a copy to your health care proxy, physician, and other health providers involved in your care.
Revoking Your Alabama Advance Directive for Health Care
You have the right to change your mind anytime and revoke your Alabama advance directive for health care whenever you wish, regardless of your mental or physical condition (AL Code § 22-8A-5). You can revoke it in several ways, including:
- By signing a written revocation
- By physically destroying the document
- By making an oral statement that shows your intent to revoke it
Your health care provider should record this revocation in your medical record. If you create a new advance directive, it is best to destroy old copies and provide an updated version to your proxy and health care providers.
If you signed an advance directive before August 1, 2001, it may still be valid. However, under AL Code § 22-8A-13, artificially provided nutrition and hydration cannot be withdrawn unless your older document allows it.
Alabama Rules for Out-of-State Advance Directives
If you create an advance directive in another state, Alabama will generally recognize it. Under AL Code § 22-8A-12, an advance directive that is valid under the laws of another state is also valid in Alabama. However, there is an important limit. The document cannot give more authority than Alabama law allows. Even if another state allows broader decision-making powers, Alabama providers must follow Alabama law when applying the document.
