Revocación del poder notarial médico legal y testamento en vida
STATUTORY REFERENCE
ALL REFERENCES ARE TO THE WEST VIRGINIA CODE
REVOCATION OF LIVING WILL AND MEDICAL POWER OF ATTORNEY
General Information:
A Living Will is a written, witnessed advance health care directive
which deals with the withholding or withdrawing of life support systems.
§16-30-3
A Medical Power of Attorney is a principal's appointment of another
individual, who must be at least 18 years old, to make health care decisions
for the principal. §16-30-3
Pursuant to the West Virginia Health Care Decisions Act, an individual
may execute a Living will and/or a Medical Power of Attorney. There
are statutory forms provided for each of these documents. Use of
statutory forms is not required. The requirements for execution and revocation
of both of these documents are the same. §16-30-4
Execution Requirements (§16-30-4):
Any competent adult may at any time execute a living will or medical
power of attorney.
A living will or medical power of attorney must be:
(2) executed by the principal or by another person in the principal's presence
at the principal's express direction if the principal is physically unable
to do so;
(5) signed and attested by such witnesses
whose signatures and attestations shall be acknowledged before a notary
public.
A witness may not be:
(1) the person who signed the living will or
medical power of attorney on behalf of and at the direction of the principal;
(3) entitled to any portion of the estate of the principal under any will of the principal
or codicil thereto (the validity of the living will or medical power of
attorney is not affected when a witness at the time of witnessing the living
will or medical power of attorney was unaware of being a named beneficiary
of the principal's will);
The following may not serve as a medical power of attorney representative
or successor medical power of attorney representative:
It is the responsibility of the principal or his or her representative
to provide notification to the principal's attending physician and other
health care providers of the existence of the living will or medical power
of attorney and of any revocation of the living will or medical power of
attorney.
Attending physicians and other health care providers must make the
living will or the medical power of attorney part of the principal's medical
records.
Should any of the specific directions of a living will or medical
power of attorney be held to be invalid, the invalid provision(s) shall
not affect the other directions or provisions of the living will or medical
power of attorney, i.e., the provisions of a living will and a medical
power of attorney are severable.
Revocation Requirements (§16-30-18):
A living will or medical power of attorney may be revoked at any
time only by the principal or at the express direction of the principal.
Revocation may be by any of the following methods:
(1) by the living will
or medical power of attorney being destroyed by the principal or by some
person in the principal's presence and at the principal's direction;
(2) by a written revocation of the living will or medical power of attorney
signed and dated by the principal or person acting at the direction of
the principal; or by a verbal expression of the intent to revoke the living
will or medical power of attorney in the presence of a witness eighteen
years of age or older who signs and dates a writing confirming that
such expression of intent was made.
A written revocation becomes effective upon delivery of a written
revocation to the attending physician by the principal or by a person acting
on behalf of the principal. The attending physician must record in the
principal's medical record the time and date when notification of the written
revocation is received.
A verbal revocation shall become effective only upon communication
of the revocation to the attending physician by the principal or by a person
acting on behalf of the principal. The attending physician must record
in the principal's medical record the time and date when notification of
the revocation is received.
There is no criminal or civil liability on the part of any person
for failure to act upon a revocation unless that person has actual knowledge
of the revocation.
"The grant of a final divorce decree shall act as an automatic
revocation of the designation of the former spouse to act as a medical
power of attorney representative or successor representative."
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