Revocación del poder notarial legal para el cuidado de la salud
STATUTORY REFERENCE
ALL REFERENCES ARE TO THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CODE
POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR HEALTH CARE
(§§ 22-2201 through 22-2213)
An "attorney in fact" is the person who receives
power of attorney for health-care decisions pursuant to the provisions
of Title 21, Chapter 22.
A "durable power of attorney for health care" is a legally
enforceable document that:
Is executed in the District in a manner consistent with this
chapter or validly executed in another jurisdiction pursuant to similar
provisions of the law of that jurisdiction; and
Creates a power of attorney for health-care decisions, which
is effective upon, and only during incapacitation and is unaffected by
the subsequent disability or incapacity of the principal.
An "incapacitated individual" is an adult individual who
lacks sufficient mental capacity to appreciate the nature and implications
of a health-care decision, make a choice regarding the alternatives presented
or communicate that choice in an unambiguous manner.
A "principal" means a person who is competent to make
health-care decisions for his or her own benefit or on his or her own account.
An individual is presumed capable of making health-care
decisions unless certified otherwise under § 21-2204. Mental incapacity
to make a health-care decision is be inferred from the fact that an individual:
Has been voluntarily or involuntarily hospitalized for mental
illness pursuant to § 21-501 et seq.;
Is mentally retarded or has been determined by a court to
be incompetent to refuse commitment under § 6-1901 et seq.; or
Has a conservator or guardian appointed pursuant to §
21-1501 et seq. or § 21-2001 et seq.
Mental incapacity to make a health-care decision must be
certified by two physicians who are licensed to practice in the District
and are qualified to make a determination of mental incapacity. One of
the two certifying physicians shall be a psychiatrist. Both certifying
physicians shall give an opinion regarding the cause and nature of the
mental incapacity as well as its extent and probable duration.
A competent adult may designate, in writing, an individual
who shall be empowered to make health-care decisions on behalf of the competent
adult if the competent adult becomes incapable, by reason of mental disability,
of making or communicating a choice regarding a particular health-care
decision.
A durable power of attorney for health care must include
language which clearly communicates that the principal intends the attorney
in fact to have the authority to make health-care decisions on behalf of
the principal and must include language identical or substantially similar
to the following:
"This power of attorney shall not be affected by the subsequent
incapacity of the principal."; or
"This power of attorney becomes effective upon the incapacity
of the principal."
A durable power of attorney for health care shall
be dated and signed by the principal and two adult witnesses who affirm
that the principal was of sound mind and free from duress at the time of
signing. The two adult witnesses cannot include the principal, the health-care
provider of the principal or an employee of the health-care provider of
the principal.
Of the 2 adult witnesses, at least one cannot be related
to the principal by blood, marriage or adoption and shall not be entitled
to any part of the estate of the principal by a current will or operation
of law.
Any written form meeting the requirements of § 21-2205
may be used to create a durable power of attorney for health care. The
statutory form is a sample only and does not preclude the use of alternative
language.
At any time that the principal has the capacity to create
a durable power of attorney for health care, the principal may revoke the
appointment of the attorney in fact under a durable power of attorney
for health care by notifying the attorney in fact orally or in writing
or revoke the authority to make health-care decisions granted to
the attorney in fact under a durable power of attorney for health care
by notifying the health-care provider orally or in writing.
If a health-care provider is notified of a revocation,
the health-care provider shall document this fact in the patient-care records
of the principal and make a reasonable effort to notify the attorney in
fact of the revocation.
There is a rebuttable presumption that a principal has
the capacity to revoke a durable power of attorney for health care.
Unless it expressly provides otherwise, a valid durable
power of attorney for health care revokes any prior durable power of attorney
for health-care decisions only.
Unless a durable power of attorney for health care expressly
provides otherwise, and after its execution the marriage of the principal
is dissolved or annulled, the dissolution or annulment shall automatically
revoke a designation of the former spouse as an attorney in fact
to make health-care decisions for the principal. If a designation is revoked
solely on account of this subsection, it shall be revived by the remarriage
of the principal to the former spouse but may be subsequently revoked by
an act of the principal.
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