Iowa Medical Power of Attorney Form [PDF]

The Iowa medical power of attorney, or healthcare power of attorney, is a legal document that authorizes a person called an agent, or the attorney-in-fact, to make decisions about the healthcare of a person called the principal.

The Iowa medical power of attorney should be issued in situations where the principal is diagnosed with a terminal illness or is facing serious surgery, and there is a possibility that they won’t be able to make decisions about their healthcare in the future.

This document then enables another person to make decisions on behalf of the principal, according to the outlined medical power of attorney rights and limitations.

Laws and Legal Requirements for a Medical Power of Attorney in Iowa

Laws and Legal Requirements

Chapter 144B of the Iowa Code regulates the status of medical power of attorney in Iowa.

The Iowa medical power of attorney should be signed by the principal or another person the principal authorized to sign the document on their behalf. The principal should sign the document before at least two witnesses and a notary public.

§ 144B.3 provides who is not eligible to be a witness.

How to Write a Medical Power of Attorney in Iowa

Here, you can see the step-by-step process of drafting the Iowa medical power of attorney using our medical power of attorney template.

How to Write a Medical Power of Attorney

#1. Access the Medical Power of Attorney Form

Here, you can find the Iowa medical power of attorney template. All you have to do is open it, and our professionally designed legal document builder will guide you through the process of filling out the template and instruct you on the necessary details you have to provide.

In the first section, you should provide the basic details about the principal and the power of attorney by entering:

Principal’s full name, mailing address, and contact details
Date of issuing the medical power of attorney

#2. Appoint a Healthcare Representative

In this section, you will be instructed to enter the basic details about your attorney-in-fact. This includes their full name, mailing address, and contact details. The attorney-in-fact should be of legal age and have the legal capacity to act.

Here, you can also include the medical power of attorney rights and limitations that your agent can have.

When choosing an attorney-in-fact, make sure you find someone you can trust, considering the scope of authority they will have. It can be your spouse, your relative, your friend, or another trusted advisor.

#3. Identify an Alternative Healthcare Representative

This person will act as a secondary agent or a secondary attorney-in-fact. They will act only in situations where the primary agent is not able or willing to act. The secondary agent must fulfill the same basic requirements as the primary agent, and they will have the exact same scope of authority once the conditions for them to act are fulfilled.

You can appoint one, two, or more people as your secondary agents. In the medical power of attorney form, you should enter their full names, mailing addresses, and contact details.

#4. Identify the Witnesses and Have Them Sign the Form

Once you have completed your power of attorney, you should print and sign it. The Iowa state law provides that the power of attorney must be signed before at least two adult witnesses.

Failing to provide witnesses can result in your document not being legally valid.

#5. Notarize the Form

The document should also be acknowledged by the notary public. The notary public will confirm the identity of all the parties who sign the document and confirm that they have personally signed it. This will provide additional authenticity for the document and prevent potential fraud.