Montana Advance Healthcare Directive & Living Will
Put your medical wishes in writing and name a trusted person to make healthcare decisions on your behalf. Our Montana advance healthcare directive complies with the Montana Rights of the Terminally Ill Act (MCA Title 50, Chapter 9) and is included in every package starting at $199.
What Is a Healthcare Directive?
An advance healthcare directive — also called an advance directive or medical directive — is a legal document that communicates your medical treatment preferences to healthcare providers and your family if you are unable to speak for yourself. In Montana, this document is governed by the Montana Rights of the Terminally Ill Act (MCA Title 50, Chapter 9) and gives you two critical powers.
First, it lets you name a healthcare agent — a person you authorize to make medical decisions on your behalf when you cannot. Your agent can consent to or refuse treatment, choose healthcare providers, and access your medical records. Second, it lets you put your treatment preferences in writing — whether you want life support, CPR, artificial nutrition, pain management, and how you want end-of-life care handled.
Without a healthcare directive, your family may face agonizing decisions with no guidance. Worse, family members may disagree about your care, leading to conflict at the worst possible time. In some cases, a court may need to appoint a guardian to make medical decisions for you — a slow, expensive, and public process that a simple healthcare directive could have prevented.
Healthcare Directive vs. Living Will in Montana
In many states, a "living will" and a "healthcare directive" are separate documents. A living will traditionally contains your written instructions about medical treatment — what you do and do not want. A healthcare power of attorney (or medical power of attorney) separately appoints an agent to make decisions for you.
Montana combines both into a single document: the advance healthcare directive. Under MCA 50-9-103, your Montana healthcare directive includes both your written treatment preferences and the appointment of a healthcare agent. This is simpler, more comprehensive, and avoids the confusion that arises when separate documents conflict with each other.
When you hear Montanans refer to a "living will," they are typically talking about the treatment-instructions portion of the advance healthcare directive. Our document covers both — your specific medical wishes and the authority for your chosen agent to act on your behalf in any medical situation your written instructions do not specifically address.
What Does Your Healthcare Directive Cover?
Your Montana advance healthcare directive addresses the medical decisions that matter most.
Life-Sustaining Treatment
Specify whether you want life support, mechanical ventilation, or CPR if you are in a terminal condition or persistent vegetative state. Your healthcare directive removes the guesswork for your family during the most difficult moments.
Pain Management & Comfort Care
Indicate your preferences for pain medication and comfort care, even if those treatments may hasten death. Montana law allows you to request maximum pain relief regardless of your other treatment decisions.
Artificial Nutrition & Hydration
State whether you want feeding tubes and IV hydration if you can no longer eat or drink on your own. This is one of the most common decisions families struggle with when there is no directive in place.
Organ & Tissue Donation
Document whether you wish to donate organs, tissues, or your entire body for transplantation, research, or education. Putting this in your healthcare directive ensures your wishes are known immediately.
Choosing Your Healthcare Agent
Your healthcare agent is the person who will speak for you when you cannot. Choose carefully.
Under Montana law, your healthcare agent cannot be your healthcare provider or an employee of your healthcare facility, unless they are related to you. This rule prevents conflicts of interest in your medical care.
Montana Healthcare Directive Requirements
Under MCA Title 50, Chapter 9, your Montana healthcare directive must meet these requirements to be legally valid.
Competent Adult
You must be a competent adult (18 or older) at the time you sign your healthcare directive
Written Document
The directive must be in writing and signed by you (the declarant) or by another person at your direction
Witnesses
Your signature must be witnessed by at least one individual who is not your healthcare agent, not related to you by blood or marriage, and not entitled to any part of your estate
Notarization
Montana does not strictly require notarization, but a notarized healthcare directive is more readily accepted by healthcare providers and hospitals. Our documents include notarization.
Every healthcare directive created through Montana Will & Trust meets these requirements. We include notarization through remote online notarization to ensure healthcare providers accept your directive without delay.
Make Your Medical Wishes Known
Your advance healthcare directive is included in every Montana Will & Trust package — alongside your will or trust, power of attorney, and HIPAA authorization. Starting at $199.
Montana Healthcare Directive FAQ
Common questions about advance directives and living wills in Montana.