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North Dakota Advance Directive

A North Dakota Advance Directive is a legal document that lays out your preferences related to health care, such as your acceptance or refusal of a medical treatment, and/or your selection of a trusted healthcare decision maker.

The individual making an Advance Directive is known as the "principal," while the individuals or entities receiving authority to carry out the principal's wishes are called "agents." Designed for North Dakota residents, this Advance Directive is made for use in Burleigh County, Grand Forks County, Cass County, and in all other regions throughout the state. Any North Dakota Advance Directive from Rocket Lawyer can be fully personalized for your particular scenario. This essential legal document will provide proof of your decisions to medical facilities, and it will certify that your representatives have been given the authority to make choices for you.

It is quick and easy to document your medical preferences using a free North Dakota Advance Directive template from Rocket Lawyer:

1. Make the document - Answer a few general questions, and we will do the rest
2. Send and share it - Discuss it with your healthcare agent or get legal advice
3. Sign and make it legal - Optional or not, notarization and witnesses are a best practice

This route will often be notably more affordable and convenient than finding and hiring a traditional provider. If needed, you can start this Advance Directive on behalf of your spouse, an elderly parent, or another family member, and then have that person sign when ready. Please keep in mind that for an Advance Directive to be valid, the principal must be a mentally competent adult when they sign. If the principal has already been declared incompetent, a conservatorship might be required. When facing this situation, it would be important for you to work with an attorney.

Every adult should have an Advance Healthcare Directive (both a Living Will and a Healthcare Power of Attorney) in place. Though it's difficult to acknowledge, a day might come when you are not able to make healthcare decisions on your own. Common occasions in which you might consider it helpful to make or update your Advance Directive include:

• You have been given a terminal diagnosis
• You expect to be hospitalized for surgery
• You currently live in or are preparing to move into a care facility
• You are aging or dealing with ongoing health issue

Regardless of whether this North Dakota Advance Directive is being produced as a result of a recent change in your health or as part of a forward-looking plan, witnesses and/or notarization are strongly encouraged for protecting your document if someone questions its authenticity. Please note that this document is deemed invalid during pregnancy.

Making an Advance Directive is typically simple to do, but you or your agent(s) might still have questions. Depending on whom you contact, some lawyers won't even accept requests to review your document if they were not the author. A better approach worth consideration is to get help via attorney services at Rocket Lawyer. With a Premium membership, you have the ability to request a document review from an experienced lawyer or get answers to other questions about your Advance Directive. Rocket Lawyer is here for you.

The cost of finding and working with a legal provider to make an Advance Directive could add up to anywhere between two hundred and one thousand dollars, depending on where you are located. Unlike other Advance Directive template providers that you may come across elsewhere, Rocket Lawyer gives Premium membership holders up to 40% in savings when hiring a lawyer, so an attorney from our network can represent you if you ever require help.

With a membership, you may edit it, download it in PDF format or as a Word document, or print it out. When you are ready to wrap up your Advance Directive, it must be signed. Your agent(s) and care providers should receive copies of your final document.

The requirements governing Advance Directives are different by state; however, in North Dakota, your Advance Directive needs notarization or the signatures of two witnesses. At least one witness to your Advance Directive form must not be anyone providing you with direct health care or long-term care, or any employee of such a provider. Family members (including your spouse or adoptees), heirs, and beneficiaries also cannot be witnesses. As a general rule, witnesses must be over 18 years old, and none of them should also be acting as your agent.

Legal references for an Advance Directive in North Dakota: § 23-06.5