An Idaho Advance Directive for Health Care is actually called an Advance Care Planning Document under Idaho law. This can be confusing because the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare continues to call it an Idaho Advance Directive on their website and downloadable form. However, the name of the document isn’t what matters. Read more to see what matters when creating and signing your document.
Legal Requirements for an Idaho Advance Care Planning Document
Under Idaho law, anyone age 18 or older can execute an Advance Care Planning Document. You must include a few things for the document to be valid. this is a very short list of requirements:
- Your name
- Your date of birth
- Your telephone number
- Your mailing address
- Your signature
- The date on which the document was signed
So the legislature of Idaho gives you the green light to scrawl your Advance Care Planning Document on a Post-It Note or the back of a cocktail napkin and it can be legally valid. Witnesses are optional. Notarization is optional. It doesn’t have to be typed. It doesn’t even have to be on the form provided by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
What It Should Include
This document expresses your wishes for health care when you are unable to speak for yourself. It should contain two parts: a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care and a Living Will. Read my post on Powers of Attorney for additional information.
Don’t get confused between a Living Will and a Last Will and Testament. A Living Will expresses your end-of-life wishes when you cannot communicate your own decisions. A Last Will and Testament distributes all your earthly goods after you pass away.
Since there is no legally required form or format for the Idaho Advance Directive for Health Care, you can express your wishes in many ways. If you have a religious objection to blood transfusions or any other medical procedures, you are free to state that in your document. You may give non-resuscitation instructions, instructions for end-of-life care, or a description of treatment objectives.
What Comes Next
After you sign and date your completed Advance Care Planning Document, you need to share it. I recommend you give a copy to your primary care physician and the people you named as agents. A printed copy of the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care is invaluable for your agents when they need to use it with health care providers. I also recommend you carry a wallet card stating you have a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care and list the names and phone numbers of your agents.
You may choose to upload and store your Idaho Advance Care Planning Document on the Idaho Healthcare Directive Registry. However, it is not required and you must ensure it stays updated in the registry. Health care providers can access the registry if you are in an accident but they won’t know if you changed your plan.