Healthcare Power of Attorney in Liberty

Choose an available decision-maker and a backup

Compare potential agents by their willingness to serve, ability to communicate with clinicians and family, and availability when a decision may be needed. Consider naming an alternate in case your first choice cannot act. The Tennessee Advance Directive for Health Care form addresses an agent, an alternate, and healthcare preferences.

• Ask each person whether they are willing to serve and how they can be reached.
• Consider whether the person can understand and communicate your preferences, including when others may disagree.
• Decide who should serve as an alternate and discuss the choice with that person too.

Separate decision-making authority from information access

A healthcare power of attorney concerns authority to make healthcare decisions. A HIPAA authorization concerns sharing health information. Under HHS guidance, authority under state law can make someone a HIPAA personal representative; an information-sharing authorization by itself does not appoint a healthcare decision-maker. Whether separate authorization is useful depends on the circumstances, so do not assume it is always required or always unnecessary.

Keep healthcare authority distinct from a durable financial power of attorney, which concerns financial matters. Trustees and court-appointed guardians or conservators have different roles; one document does not automatically give its holder every kind of authority.

Prepare a short decision-and-preferences worksheet

Before discussing documents, write down your preferred agent and alternate, how to contact them, and the healthcare preferences you want them to understand. Note any existing advance directive, living will, healthcare power of attorney, or HIPAA authorization, and flag anything that may conflict or seem out of date. This gives you a practical starting point for coordinating the documents rather than treating an information-release form as an appointment.

Questions to resolve before finalizing instructions

Use your worksheet to identify what remains uncertain. For example, if your first-choice agent lives far away or may be difficult to reach, compare that person with a willing alternate who can communicate reliably. The right choice depends on your priorities; the comparison is about availability and understanding, not a guarantee about how a future decision will be handled.

• Who should make healthcare decisions, and who is the alternate if that person cannot serve?
• What care preferences do you want each person to understand?
• Which existing documents address decision-making authority, and which address information sharing?
• Do any instructions appear inconsistent or need to be coordinated?

Discuss the documents together

Dale Law Group, PLLC offers healthcare powers of attorney, advance healthcare directives and living wills, and HIPAA authorizations. The Tennessee form includes an agent, an alternate, healthcare preferences, and instructions about signing and sharing copies. Review the form’s instructions for your situation; this page does not prescribe execution steps. The firm’s office is in Murfreesboro, and it serves clients in Tennessee.