Creating a Maine medical power of attorney form entails filling essential details of all the parties concerned – the particulars of the principal, agent, and the witnesses, among other essential information. Below are the steps to follow to create a POA form:
Download the Form
The first step is to download the power of attorney document from our site. Ensure that you get the appropriate form with compatible software. Print it out and fill the details in the sections.
Principal’s Details
As the creator, you must fill out your full name, physical address, and birth date on the form. However, it is advisable to inform your close family members, private lawyer, physician, and any other significant person in your life about your health care wishes and your decision to create a POA form. In case you make amendments, ensure that you also inform all the parties concerned.
This section also permits the principal to list all the people who will have a copy of the signed POA agreement form after completion.
Choosing a Health Care Agent
Proceed to select a credible health care agent who will act as your sole decision-maker. On the first line, fill out your name as the principal; the second line is your agent’s full name, followed by title or relationship to you. You must also include the agent’s physical address, work, or home telephone number.
The form allows you to add up to three alternative agents in case the original agent is unavailable. Append their particulars on the form as mentioned above. However, if at some point you want to revoke your decision, there is an option to declare that you don’t want a particular individual to act as your agent. Include the current date and your signature on the provided space.
After that, you must tick a box to state when your health care agent can start exercising their granted powers in your name. Whether it is right away or when you suffer incapacitation.
Principal Treatment Preferences
Here, the principal lists all the directives that the agent will exercise upon incapacitation. If you want a particular life-prolonging procedure, surgical, or pain relief medications, include them in this section. It entails a list of declarations and directives that the agent will ensure the attending physicians follow to the letter.
Selecting a Primary Physician
Include your primary physician’s particulars to specify who will attend to your health and carry out your wishes willingly.
Organ Donation
The principal can declare whether he wants to donate their body organs or not after death. Whether it is the whole body or a specific organ, you must indicate it on the form.
Post-Death Decisions
This section has all the principal’s wishes after death. It includes the funeral arrangements, whether they wanted a memorial service, cremation, or burial. The principal must include the name of the person to take custody of their final remains.
Principal and Witness Signatures
The principal must have two witnesses to validate the document by appending all their signatures on the form. You must include the particulars of the parties involved – full names, signatures, and current date.
The form also includes a “notary acknowledgment” section in case the principal decides to notarize. However, it is not mandatory in Maine state; thus, you can avoid this section.
Do Not Resuscitate Form (Optional)
Here, the principal can choose not to be resuscitated in case of a medical emergency.
Once all these sections are completed, the principal must fill out their particulars, sign the form, and select an expiry date or no expiry for this directive. The final stage is putting the current date and signature, followed by POA’s notarization.