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Virginia Healthcare Power of Attorney

A Virginia Healthcare Power of Attorney is a legal document that grants a selected person or entity the authority to make healthcare decisions for you, such as refusing or accepting a specific medical treatment, if you cannot do so.

The individual giving control is called the "principal," and the individual or organization receiving powers is called the "agent." Suited for Virginia residents, our Power of Attorney for health care is made for use in Fairfax County, Prince William County, Virginia Beach County, and in all other parts of the state. All Virginia Healthcare PoA forms from Rocket Lawyer can be modified for your particular scenario. As a result of this legal document, your agent can offer proof to medical facilities and other parties that they can legally act in your interest.

It is fast and easy to give or receive the authority you may need with a free Virginia Healthcare Power of Attorney template from Rocket Lawyer:

1. Make the document - Answer a few simple questions and we will do the rest
2. Send or share it - Review it with your agent or seek legal help
3. Sign it - Optional or not, witnesses and notarization are a best practice

This solution will often be notably less time-consuming than hiring and working with a conventional attorney. If needed, you may prepare this Medical PoA on behalf of an elderly parent, a spouse, or another family member, and then have them sign once you've drafted it. Please note that for this document to be accepted as legally valid, the principal must be a mentally competent adult when they sign. If the principal is already unable to make their own decisions, a court-appointed conservatorship may be required. When managing this scenario, it is a good idea for you to speak to an attorney.

Anyone who is over 18 ought to have a Healthcare Power of Attorney. While it can be tough to think about, a time may come when you cannot make healthcare decisions on your own. Typical occasions where you might find PoA forms to be useful include:

• You expect to undergo an in-patient procedure requiring anesthesia
• You are aging or have declining health
• You are managing a terminal illness
• You live in or have plans to move into an adult care facility

Whether your Virginia Healthcare Power of Attorney is being drafted as part of a forward-looking plan or produced in response to an emergency, witnesses and notarization are highly encouraged for protecting your document if a third party challenges its validity.

When discussing the subjects of estate planning and elder care with medical or legal professionals, you or a loved one might hear "healthcare proxy" and "healthcare power of attorney" used together or interchangeably. In short, they are one and the same. That being said, you should keep in mind that it is possible to give power of attorney over matters that aren't related to health care. In that case, "proxy" generally is not the term of choice.

Virginia Medical PoA forms are generally straightforward; however, you or your agent(s) could still need advice. Locating an attorney to review your Virginia Healthcare Power of Attorney could be time-consuming and relatively expensive. A more cost-effective route is to request help from the On Call attorney network. As a Premium member, you can get your document examined by an attorney with relevant experience. As always, you can rest assured that Rocket Lawyer will be here for you.

The fees associated with meeting and hiring the average attorney to make a Medical Power of Attorney might total anywhere between two hundred and five hundred dollars, based on your location. Rocket Lawyer offers much more than most other Power of Attorney template websites that you might find. As a Rocket Lawyer member, you can get up to 40% in savings when hiring an attorney.

Once you've made a Healthcare PoA with the help of Rocket Lawyer, you'll be able to review it wherever and whenever you choose. With a membership, you may edit it, download it in PDF format or as a Word document, print it, or sign it. Attached to each Power of Attorney form, there will be a list of tips to follow while finalizing the document. Be sure that your agent(s) and care providers get a copy of the fully executed document.

The specific requirements vary in each state; however, in Virginia, your document will typically need to be signed by two witnesses. The document must be signed before a notary if you intend to grant an agent authority over your burial or cremation. As a basic standard, your witness(es) must be over 18 years old, and none of them should simultaneously be your agent.

See Virginia Healthcare Power of Attorney law: Title 54.1, Chapter 29, Article 8