Sometimes being a substitute decision-maker for another person is tricky because there isn't always a piece of a paper to prove it. Guardians have court orders, attorneys have a Power of Attorney for Personal Care, but what does a parent have? Usually nothing. Their legal authority comes from the Health Care Consent Act. There is a list in the law that tells us who makes medical decisions if a patient lacks capacity to do so for themselves. This list gets followed by health practitioners once they determine their patient lacks capacity.
Over the years we've fielded questions from parents who have adult children with development disabilities. They are legally the substitute decision-maker for treatment decisions and there is no reason for them to seek a court order appointing them as guardian of the person.
And yet, their default status does not provide peace of mind. Occasionally we have written letters that explain to health care providers that our clients are in fact the substitute decision-maker for their child based on the list above (if the child, regardless of age, is found to lack capacity to make the treatment decision in question).
This dilemma has led us to create a little app! It's free and can be accessed at the link above. You don't even have to give us your email! Just complete the questions and download a customized letter.
Total cost
