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Advance Directive for Health Care Form - Illinois
An Illinois Advance Directive is a revisable set of written instructions about future medical care that take effect in cases when a patient becomes unable to make decisions for themselves. The purpose of the form is to let an individual plan their medical treatment in advance.
Download a pre-made template through the link below or make your own Advance Directive with our online template.
The form lists decisions on life-sustaining medical procedures and about the specific kinds of treatment the individual may or may not wish to receive and can be used to elect a spouse, relative, friend or attorney as a decision-maker in case the individual is unable to make their own decisions because of an illness, accident or incapacity. The main difference between this form and an Illinois Living Will is that a Living Will - also called a "directive to physicians" - is one form of the Advance Health Care Directive. It's more limited in nature and only state a patient's wishes for end-of-life medical care.
An Illinois Advance Directive is regulated by the 755 ILCS 35/1 (Illinois Compiled Statutes) and defined by 755 ILCS 35/2(b) . The document must be witnessed by two (2) individuals eighteen (18) years of age or older.
What Is an Illinois Advance Directive?
An Advance Directive is a legal document by which an individual appoints a proxy to make health care decisions for when they are no longer able to and to administer or withhold treatment and procedures based on their previously stated wishes. Advance Directives include two separate forms:
- A Living Will (a written statement listing decisions about life-sustaining procedures in the event of a terminal condition);
- A durable power of attorney for health care (a document appointing an attorney-in-fact to make medical decisions for the individual).
The attorney-in-fact should meet the following criteria:
- The health care proxy - or agent - must meet the state's legal requirements.
- The individual's doctor or a member of their medical care team may not be selected as a proxy.
- The elected individual should be trusted to be the patient's advocate in any disagreements about their care.
How to Write an Advance Directive in Illinois?
Advance Care planning is a four-step process:
STEP 1 - Electing an agent to make health care decisions on the patient's behalf.
STEP 2 - Expressing wishes about any limitations in medical treatment - CPR, breathing machines, feeding tubes, and antibiotics.
STEP 3 - Making decisions related to organ and tissue donation and stating preferences regarding the funeral, burial and the disposition of remains.
STEP 4 - Signing, dating and witnessing the form according to the applicable Illinois law. Copies of the completed form should be handed out to the agent, the physician, the patient's family and to the health care facility.
Download Advance Directive for Health Care Form - Illinois
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