Health Decisions
New Developments
The ABA Commission on Law and Aging has published a new booklet offering a simple durable power of attorney for health care, designed to meet the legal requirements in nearly all states. Learn more and access the easy-to-use guide and form here.
AARP Analysis: States Find Success with Physician Orders (POLST) to Honor Patients’ Treatment Wishes. New report offers suggestions for states to launch POLST programs effectively.
Baxter v. Montana, decided by the Montana Supreme Court on December 31, 2009, addressed the question of whether the state's constitution guaranteed terminally ill patients a right to lethal prescription medication from their physicians. Read a summary here.
Consumer Information
Consumer's Tool Kit for Health Care Advance Planning (Purchase print version here ).
- Health & Financial Decisions: Legal Tools for Preserving Your Personal Autonomy (Purchase print version here ).
- Health and Financial Decisions (En Español) (Purchase print version here ).
- Making Medical Decisions for Someone Else: A How-To Guide
- Making Medical Decisions for Someone Else: A Guide for Marylanders Brochure or Handbook
- Shape Your Health Care Future with Health Care Advance Directives (Purchase print version here).
- Myths and Facts About Health Care Advance Directives
- New! Links to State-specific Advance Directive Forms (Updated 2011)
Lawyer Resources
- Lawyers Tool Kit for Health Care Advance Planning
- The Evolution of Healthcare Advance Planning Law and Policy (article by Charles Sabatino, 88 Milbank Quarterly 2, 211–239 (2010)
Resources on Assessing Capacity
- Assessment of Older Adults with Diminished Capacity: A Handbook for Lawyers
This book offers ideas and makes suggestions for attorneys who wish to balance the competing goals of autonomy and protection as they confront the difficult challenges of working with older adults with problems in decision-making capacity. 2005, reprinted 2007. 80 pp. $25. Order from the ABA Webstore here. - Judicial Determination of Capacity of Older Adults in Guardianship Proceedings
This book contains practical tools to equip a wide audience of judges to conduct any form of guardianship proceeding more effectively. Includes links to expanded information, work sheets, and model forms. 2006. 41 pp. $25. Order from the ABA Webstore here. - Assessment of Older Adults with Diminished Capacity: A Handbook for Psychologists
This handbook is designed for psychologists evaluating civil capacities of older adults. 2008. 146 pp. $25. Order from the ABA Webstore here.
General Advance Planning Resources
