In North Carolina, a Medical Power of Attorney lets you give someone (called the agent or attorney-in-fact) the power to make healthcare decisions for you if you’re unable to communicate. This document is often referred to as a health care power of attorney in NC.
Laws: Chapter 32A, Article 3 of the North Carolina General Statutes governs medical powers of attorney in North Carolina.
Consider creating the following forms alongside your healthcare power of attorney:
- Living Will: A living will records your preferences for end-of-life treatment and medical care. If you have one, medical professionals (and your healthcare agent) must abide by the choices you’ve recorded in your living will. Healthcare POAs and living wills are both advance directives.
- North Carolina (Financial) Power of Attorney: This document gives the person you appoint the right to make financial and business decisions for you but excludes the right to decide about your health.
How to Fill in a Medical Power of Attorney in North Carolina
Refer to these instructions below while filling out your MPOA to ensure it is legally valid.
Download a Medical Power of Attorney Form
Use the following template to guide you as you create your printable form:
Step 1: Choose an agent
Your healthcare agent is the person who will make decisions on your behalf if you can’t communicate. They can also be called the attorney-in-fact.
Who should you choose as your agent?
Choose an agent who respects your personal beliefs and is willing to make decisions as you would want/in your best interest. It’s also best to select someone who lives close by to act as your agent in an emergency.
Who cannot act as your agent?
Under NC law, you can’t choose anyone under age 18 or a person you pay for your healthcare services (e.g., your doctor) to serve as your agent.
Relevant law: § 32A-18
Can you have more than one agent?
Yes, you can (and should) designate multiple agents to serve in the order you name them on the form. If your primary agent is unable or unwilling to help, the next person you name will be contacted by medical professionals in an emergency.
Relevant law: § 32A-21
Step 2: Specify what healthcare decisions your agent can make
When deciding on what powers to give your health care agent, consider your preferences for specific medications and treatments you would or wouldn’t want to receive and emergency or end-of-life medical care.
Unless you expressly state otherwise, your health care agent can make the following decisions on your behalf:
- withhold life support systems or discontinue the use of life support systems
- provide or withhold mental health care
- donate organs
- authorize an autopsy
- make decisions on cremation or burial
Relevant law: § 32A-19
Can you limit your agent’s powers?
You can restrict your agent’s powers by writing in specific limitations. When filling out this section, consider whether you wish to receive treatments like artificial nutrition, life support, or pain relief.
Relevant law: § 32A-19
What is your agent legally unable to do?
North Carolina law restricts your agent from:
- Making any decisions about your finances or property
- Going against your wishes, either as you’ve stated them in your MPOA or another directive, or based on their knowledge of what you would have wanted.
If you don’t include any restrictions on your agent’s power, they’ll be able to make nearly any decision you would typically make for yourself about health care, treatment, and end-of-life decisions.
Relevant law: § 32A-19
When can your agent start making decisions for you?
Your agent can start making decisions once your attending physicians (or a qualified psychologist in cases of mental health incapacitation) have determined that you can’t make decisions for yourself responsibly.
Relevant law: § 32A-20
Step 3: Sign the form
Do you need notary or witness signatures?
Yes, North Carolina law requires the following for your MPOA to be valid:
- The signature of the principal
- The signatures of two qualified witnesses over the age of 18
- Acknowledgment by a notary public who witnesses the signatures
Relevant law: § 32A-16-3
Who cannot be a witness?
The following cannot be witnesses:
- Your healthcare provider or another employee of a facility in which you receive treatment
- Someone related to you by blood or marriage
- Anyone who expects to inherit from your estate or has a claim on any portion of your estate
Relevant law: § 32A-16-6
How long is your Healthcare Power of Attorney effective in North Carolina?
There is no expiration date on the MPOA form. However, you can limit the timeframe by writing it in the document.
Remember that the Healthcare Power of Attorney is only effective while you’re incapacitated, and lose its effectiveness once you recover enough to make your own healthcare decisions.
Relevant law: § 32A-20
How to Revoke a Medical Power of Attorney in NC
The following circumstances will revoke your MPOA in North Carolina:
- You create a Revocation of Power of Attorney form
- You make a new MPOA, stating that the old one is revoked
- You inform your physician or healthcare provider that you wish to revoke the MPOA
Remember that the principal’s death automatically revokes the MPOA, except for decisions related to the autopsy, anatomical gifts, or disposition of remains.
Relevant law: § 32A-20