PA Advance Directives FAQ | Living Will, POA & DNR

Question 1

What is an advance directive in Pennsylvania?

Accepted Answer

It is the umbrella term, under 20 Pa.C.S. Chapter 54, for a living will and a healthcare power of attorney. The living will records your instructions about life-sustaining treatment; the healthcare power of attorney appoints an agent to make medical decisions whenever you cannot. Pennsylvania allows both to be signed as one combined document.

Question 2

When does a Pennsylvania living will take effect?

Accepted Answer

Only when two things are documented in your chart: your attending physician has determined you are incompetent, and you have an end-stage medical condition or are permanently unconscious, as defined in 20 Pa.C.S. § 5423. Until both are certified you make your own decisions, and the document sits dormant.

Question 3

What decisions can a Pennsylvania healthcare agent make?

Accepted Answer

Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 5454 your agent can make any health care decision you could make — choosing doctors and hospitals, consenting to or refusing surgery, arranging admission to a facility, and accessing records. It activates whenever your physician finds you unable to make or communicate a decision, which is a far broader trigger than a living will.

Question 4

Does a living will stop paramedics from doing CPR in Pennsylvania?

Accepted Answer

No. EMS crews follow medical orders, not legal documents. Stopping resuscitation outside a hospital requires a Pennsylvania out-of-hospital DNR order, bracelet, or necklace signed by your attending physician under the Do-Not-Resuscitate Act, or a POLST form that addresses resuscitation.

Question 5

What is a POLST form in Pennsylvania?

Accepted Answer

Pennsylvania Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment is a bright pink, physician-signed medical order covering resuscitation, the level of medical intervention, and artificially administered nutrition. It travels with the patient between home, hospital, and nursing facility. It is intended for people who are seriously ill or frail, not healthy adults.

Question 6

How many witnesses does a Pennsylvania advance directive need?

Accepted Answer

Two adult witnesses, per 20 Pa.C.S. § 5452, who watch you sign and date it. Your named agent may not be a witness. Notarization is not required by statute, but it is worth adding because out-of-state hospitals sometimes hesitate over an un-notarized directive.

Question 7

Who decides for me in Pennsylvania if I never named a healthcare agent?

Accepted Answer

A health care representative under 20 Pa.C.S. § 5461, in priority order: spouse and adult children who are not the spouse's children, then adult children, parents, adult siblings, adult grandchildren, and finally a close friend. Anyone within a class may act, so equally ranked relatives who disagree can deadlock the decision.

Question 8

Can my healthcare agent handle my finances too?

Accepted Answer

No. A healthcare power of attorney is limited to medical decisions under Chapter 54. Paying the nursing facility, managing accounts, and dealing with real estate require a separate durable financial power of attorney under 20 Pa.C.S. Chapter 56. Families discover this gap at the worst possible moment.

Question 9

Does a Pennsylvania living will cover feeding tubes?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and it should address them explicitly. Pennsylvania's statutory form treats artificial nutrition and hydration as a separate election precisely because it is the intervention families argue about most. Silence on the point leaves your agent and physicians guessing.

Question 10

Can I revoke or change my Pennsylvania advance directive?

Accepted Answer

At any time while you have capacity, and with no particular formality — orally, in writing, or by destroying the document. Tell your agent and your physician's office, and replace the copies you distributed. A divorce action also generally revokes a spouse's appointment as agent under 20 Pa.C.S. § 5456.

Question 11

Does my 18-year-old need a healthcare power of attorney?

Accepted Answer

Yes. At 18 a parent's automatic authority over medical decisions and health records ends, even if you pay the tuition and the insurance. A short healthcare power of attorney with HIPAA authorization lets a hospital speak with you if your college student is injured.

Question 12

What happens to a Pennsylvania living will during pregnancy?

Accepted Answer

Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 5429, a living will generally is not given effect during pregnancy if life-sustaining treatment would let the pregnancy continue to live birth, unless that treatment would be physically harmful or cause unmanageable pain. Women of childbearing age should address this provision deliberately when signing.

Question 13

Will Pennsylvania honor an advance directive signed in another state?

Accepted Answer

Generally yes — 20 Pa.C.S. § 5471 recognizes directives validly executed elsewhere, and most states extend the same courtesy to Pennsylvania documents. Notarizing yours smooths acceptance, and if you split the year between two states, signing both states' forms is worth the extra twenty minutes.

Question 14

Where should I keep my Pennsylvania advance directive?

Accepted Answer

Anywhere but a safe deposit box. Give copies to your agent and successor agent, your primary care physician, and the records department of the hospital system you would realistically be taken to. Keep one where a paramedic would look, and put a photo of it on your agent's phone.

Pennsylvania Advance Directives FAQ

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