Advance Medical Directives & Health Care Agents
Below you will find links to resources about Advance Medical Directives and Health Care Agents. Additionally, you can find information on how to seek aid from a lawyer, if needed. Some areas of the state have more information than others. You may wish to look at information from other areas as well as your own.
National Resources
This guide from the American Bar Association provides information on how to appoint a health care agent. Additionally, this guide includes a simple version of a Health Care Advance Directive. This will help you choose someone to make health care decisions for you if you can’t.
Consumer’s Tool Kit for Health Care Advance Planning
If you are thinking of making a health care advance directive (such as a living will), you can use these tools provided by the American Bar Association. These resources will help you communicate what is important if you are faced with a serious illness.
Making Medical Decisions for Someone Else: A How- To Guide
If you are named a health care agent and make health care decisions for someone else or may sometime in the future, you can use this handbook provided by the American Bar Association.
Statewide Resources
Power of Attorney & Conservatorship
Find more information about what power of attorney means using this guide from Legal Aid of East Tennessee.
The Declaration for Mental Health Treatment Form
This guide from the state of Tennessee provides helpful information about Declarations for Mental Health Treatment. A DMHT is a legal document where you can communicate your wishes in the case of a mental health crisis. Additionally, this resource provides a sample form for you to fill out a DMHT.
Legal Advice:
If you are in Tennessee, the website, Free Legal Answers, allows you to ask a lawyer for help with a legal issue at no cost. It is fast and easy, and all you need is a computer. This is a FREE service for people who cannot afford a lawyer.
How it works:
- You will answer a few questions to see if you qualify for their service. If you qualify, you will have the option to create an account.
- If you are eligible, you can ask their volunteer attorneys a non-criminal legal question.
- Once your question receives a response, you will get an email. You will need to sign into the website to read your response and ask any additional questions.
Visit https://tn.freelegalanswers.org/ to sign up.
