Selecting a Proxy Decision Maker

What constitutes a legal advance directive varies from state to state. That is, in some states advance directives are pre-formulated check lists that permit the patient to mark what interventions are acceptable and under which conditions. Other states require the preparation of documents under the oversight of legal council. In Massachusetts, the advance directive that is legally recognized is a "health care proxy". The potential patient identifies a proxy decision-maker to act in his or her stead in the event of incapacity. The document needs two witnesses, neither of whom can be an immediate caregiver or the proxy, but does not require legal oversight. An example of this form can be found here.