Advance Directives

A medical crisis can happen to anyone, at any age, without warning. A car accident, a stroke, a surgical complication, a sudden illness — any of these can leave you unable to communicate your medical wishes. When that happens, someone needs to make decisions for you. And those decisions may involve the most profound questions in medicine: whether to continue treatment, whether to pursue aggressive intervention, or whether to focus on comfort and quality of life.

Advance directives and health care powers of attorney let you address these questions before a crisis. They do different legal work: one records treatment choices covered by the Oklahoma Advance Directive Act, while the other appoints an agent for decisions authorized by the Oklahoma Health Care Agent Act.

Without clear documents and conversations, family members and medical providers may have incomplete information about what you would have wanted. Written instructions cannot anticipate every medical fact, but they give the decision-makers a reliable starting point.

Living Wills

Oklahoma’s statutory form is called an Advance Directive for Health Care. Its living-will section addresses life-sustaining treatment when the required findings are made for a terminal condition, a persistently unconscious state, or an end-stage condition. The statute defines those terms, and the form allows separate choices for each.

What a living will can address:

• Life-sustaining treatment. Whether you want covered treatment provided, withheld, or withdrawn in the statutory circumstances
• Artificial nutrition and hydration. Whether you want tube feeding or intravenous fluids if you cannot eat or drink on your own
• Comfort and pain relief. The statutory form addresses relief from pain and discomfort
• Organ and tissue donation. Whether you wish to donate organs after death
• Additional instructions. More specific directions, drafted consistently with Oklahoma law

What a living will does not cover. The living-will provisions become operative only when the statutory facts exist. They do not answer every treatment question. A separate health care power of attorney can authorize an agent to address other medical decisions, within the document and Oklahoma law.

Clarity matters. Phrases such as “extraordinary measures” or “die with dignity” can mean different things to different people. I help clients compare those preferences with Oklahoma’s statutory choices and add instructions when the scope calls for them.

Health Care Power of Attorney

A health care power of attorney (also called a health care proxy) names an agent to make authorized medical decisions under the timing and limits stated in the document and Oklahoma law.

Under Oklahoma’s statutory framework, the agent generally acts when the principal lacks capacity unless the document makes the authority immediate. The agent must follow the principal’s individual instructions and known wishes or, when those are unknown, act according to the principal’s best interest and known values.

Powers your agent may exercise:

• Consent to or refuse medical treatment on your behalf
• Choose or discharge physicians and health care facilities
• Seek access to medical information within the agent’s authority and applicable privacy rules
• Make decisions about surgery, medication, therapy, and rehabilitation
• Sign a do-not-resuscitate consent if the document authorizes it

The statutory health care power does not itself authorize the agent to direct withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, nutrition, or hydration. Those decisions must comply with the Oklahoma Advance Directive Act. That is why the two documents should be drafted and discussed together.

Choosing the right person. Your health care agent should understand your values, be willing to ask questions, and be available when needed.

This is a different choice than your financial power of attorney. The person best suited to manage your bank accounts may not be the right person to make life-and-death medical decisions. I help clients think carefully about who is the right person for each role.

HIPAA Authorizations

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) limits when a covered provider may disclose protected health information. Federal rules can permit some disclosures to family or friends involved in care, and a person with currently effective health care authority may qualify as the patient’s personal representative for matters within that authority.

A written authorization can document permission for specified people and reduce practical uncertainty before an agent’s authority becomes effective. Its scope, expiration, revocation terms, and exceptions matter. Depending on the document and circumstances, it may permit designated people to:

• Speak with your doctors about your condition and treatment options
• Access your medical records and test results
• Receive updates on your health status
• Participate in care planning discussions

An authorization does not guarantee access to every record or override legal limits. I discuss whether a separate authorization fits the plan and how it should coordinate with the health care power of attorney.

DNR Orders and Life-Sustaining Treatment

A do-not-resuscitate (DNR) consent or order addresses cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) after cardiac or respiratory arrest. It is narrower than an advance directive. Oklahoma has statutory forms and procedures for DNR consent and orders, and the document must be available to the people expected to rely on it.

Whether a DNR is medically appropriate is a discussion for the patient and physician. Legal review can help identify the applicable form, authority, execution requirements, and where the document should be kept.

DNR is not the same as physician orders for life-sustaining treatment. Oklahoma also uses a standardized Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) framework for broader medical orders based on a patient’s current condition and wishes. These are medical orders, not substitutes for legal estate-planning documents.

Other treatment preferences. Additional instructions or medical orders may address interventions such as:

• Mechanical ventilation (breathing machines)
• Artificial nutrition and hydration (feeding tubes, IV fluids)
• Dialysis
• Blood transfusions
• Antibiotics for life-threatening infections
• Comfort care and palliative measures

These are medical decisions. Clients should discuss the likely effects of each intervention with a physician. I help translate those choices into the applicable legal documents and instructions.

Having the Conversation

Advance directives are not only a drafting exercise. They are more useful when the people who may rely on them understand your wishes and know where to find the documents.

Talk to your health care agent. Make sure the person you choose understands your values, your priorities, and the specific decisions you have documented. Do not just hand them the paperwork — have a real conversation about what matters to you.

Talk to your family. Even family members who are not named as your health care agent should understand your general wishes. This can reduce the chance of conflict during a crisis and help everyone support your agent’s decisions.

Talk to your doctor. Your physician should have a copy of your advance directives and should understand your preferences. If you have strong feelings about specific treatments or interventions, discuss them with your doctor so your medical record reflects your wishes.

These conversations can be uncomfortable. Discussing the documents in advance can give the agent and family useful context when a decision is needed.

I help clients approach these conversations thoughtfully and provide guidance on how to discuss difficult topics with family members who may be reluctant to engage.

Coordinating Advance Directives With Your Estate Plan

Advance directives are one component of a comprehensive estate plan. They should be compared with the other documents so that separate roles, timing, and instructions are understood and avoidable conflicts can be addressed.

Your financial power of attorney addresses your financial affairs during incapacity. Your advance directives address your medical care. Together, they provide separate instructions for financial authority and health care decisions.

If you have a trust, the trustee may need to coordinate with your health care agent on financial decisions related to your care — such as paying for medical expenses, modifying your living situation, or accessing funds for home health services.

And if Medicaid planning is part of your strategy, your advance directives may affect how health care decisions and financial planning are coordinated.

I design these documents to work together without treating them as interchangeable.

Primary Sources

• Oklahoma Statutes, Title 63, §§ 3101.1–3101.16 — Oklahoma Advance Directive Act
• Oklahoma Statutes, Title 63, §§ 3111.1–3111.13 — Oklahoma Health Care Agent Act
• Oklahoma Statutes, Title 63, §§ 3131.1–3131.15 — Oklahoma Do-Not-Resuscitate Act

Primary sources checked July 27, 2026. This page provides general Oklahoma legal information and is not medical advice or legal advice for a particular person.