The New Mexico power of attorney, or healthcare power of attorney, is a legal document that one person, called the principal, uses to authorize another person, called the agent or the attorney-in-fact, to represent them and make healthcare decisions on their behalf.
The medical power of attorney form includes a list of treatments you want or don’t want to be subjected to if your health deteriorates to the point that you can’t make such decisions yourself.
The principal can also outline their end-to-life preferences, as well as their preferences regarding medication, artificial nutrition, or hydration.
Laws and Legal Requirements for a Medical Power of Attorney in New Mexico
Laws and Legal Requirements
Article 7A of the New Mexico Statutes, called the Uniform Health Care Decisions Act, regulates the status of medical power of attorney in New Mexico.
Section 24-7A-4 provides additional instruction on how to draft the medical power of attorney form, stating that it is recommended to have the principal’s signature acknowledged by at least two witnesses.
Section 24-7A-11 provides that the principal can revoke the medical POA by issuing the power of attorney revocation or by stating their wish to revoke the POA to their physician.
How to Write a Medical Power of Attorney in New Mexico
Here, you can see the step-by-step process of writing the New Mexico medical power of attorney.
How to Write a Medical Power of Attorney
#1. Access the Medical Power of Attorney Form
Here, you can access a New Mexico medical power of attorney template. All you have to do is fill it out using our specially designed legal-document builder.
At the very beginning of the document, you should provide the date of issuing the medical power of attorney, as well as the full name, mailing address, and contact details of the principal.
#2. Appoint a Healthcare Representative
Here, you should provide the full name, mailing address, and contact details of the person you want to authorize to represent you and make healthcare decisions on your behalf. The healthcare representative is also called the agent or the attorney-in-fact.
The agent should be an adult with the legal capacity to act. Moreover, you should find someone you can trust, considering the importance of the matter they will have authority to make decisions about.
#3. Identify an Alternative Healthcare Representative
This is the person who acts as a healthcare representative only if the primary healthcare representative loses their legal capacity, passes away, or becomes in some other way unable to represent you. They are also referred to as the secondary agent or secondary attorney-in-fact.
The alternative healthcare representative should fulfill the same requirements as the primary healthcare representative. You can name one or more people as your alternative healthcare representatives.
#4. Determine Rights and Duties of your Healthcare Representative
In this section, you should define the scope of authority of your healthcare representative by providing the medical power of attorney rights and limitations.
You should outline your preferences for what medication and treatments you want or don’t want to be subjected to. Here, you can also set your end-to-life or artificial nutrition and hydration preferences.
#5. Sign and Notarize the Form
Finally, you should print and sign your document. Although not required by state law, the signature should be acknowledged by at least two witnesses and a notary public.
This will provide additional security for all the parties involved and prevent potential misunderstandings, disputes, or fraudulent activities.
Witnesses and a notary public will confirm that you have personally and freely signed the medical power of attorney.