The South Carolina medical power of attorney, or healthcare power of attorney, is a legal document that enables the principal to authorize their agent or attorney-in-fact to represent them before the healthcare institution and make healthcare decisions on their behalf, according to the instructions provided in the document.
The principal should issue a medical power of attorney when they are facing life-threatening surgery, they have been diagnosed with a terminal illness, or there is a possibility that the principal won’t be able to make their own healthcare decisions in the future.
Laws and Legal Requirements for a Medical Power of Attorney in South Carolina
Laws and Legal Requirements
Title 62, Article 5, Sections 501 to 518 of the South Carolina Code of Laws regulate the status of the medical power of attorney form.
Section 62-5-504 provides that the principal must sign the medical power of attorney before at least two witnesses. If they haven’t signed the document before witnesses, they must later acknowledge that the signature on the document is theirs before at least two witnesses.
Section 44-77-40 provides that the notarization of the medical power of attorney is required only when the medical power of attorney includes a declaration to withhold life-sustaining procedures.
How to Write a Medical Power of Attorney in South Carolina
To make a valid and effective medical power of attorney, your document must be in accordance with South Carolina state laws and regulations.
In the section below, you can find the step-by-step process for drafting a valid and effective South Carolina medical power of attorney.
How to Write a Medical Power of Attorney
#1. Access the Medical Power of Attorney Form
Here, you can find the medical power of attorney template. Fill it out by answering pertinent questions using our sophisticated document builder as a guide. In this way, you will be sure your medical POA is legal and effective.
First, you should fill out the basic details about the document and the principal, such as:
Date of issuing the medical power of attorney form
Principal’s full name, mailing address, and contact details.
#2. Appoint a Healthcare Representative
In this section, you will appoint the healthcare representative and outline their scope of authority by providing the medical power of attorney rights and limitations.
The healthcare representative is also called the agent or the attorney-in-fact. You should enter their full name, mailing address, and contact details in the medical power of attorney form.
The agent should be an adult with legal capacity, and it should be someone you can trust. This is important since the agent will have the authority to make healthcare decisions on your behalf.
#3. Identify an Alternative Healthcare Representative
The alternative healthcare representative acts in case the primary healthcare representative becomes unable to represent the principal. This can happen if they lose their legal capacity, pass away, or are physically unable to access the healthcare facility and represent the principal.
Additionally, the representative for alternative healthcare should be an adult with the ability to act legally. You can appoint one or more people to act as alternative healthcare representatives.
#4. Identify the Witnesses and Have Them Sign the Form
After finalizing the form, you should sign it before at least two witnesses. When choosing your witnesses, you should follow the restrictions provided in Section 62-5-504 on who is not eligible to be your witness.
#5. Notarize the Form
The notarization is required by law only if the medical power of attorney includes a declaration to withhold life-sustaining procedures. However, you should also consider notarizing your document, even if that is not the case, since the notarization additionally confirms the authenticity of the document and prevents fraud.