Advance Directive vs Living Will in Utah: What You Actually Need

Search "advance directive" and "living will" in Utah and you will find websites treating them as two separate documents you need to track down. That is outdated information. Under the 2026 Uniform Health Care Decisions Act (Utah Code Title 75A, Chapter 9), a living will and a healthcare power of attorney are integrated sections of one statutory form: the Utah Advance Health Care Directive.

The confusion costs families real time during medical emergencies. Here is what each term actually means in Utah.

Living Will: Part II of Your Advance Directive

A living will is the section of your advance directive where you specify which medical treatments you want — and which you refuse — if you develop a terminal condition, persistent vegetative state, or irreversible coma.

In Utah, the living will is not a standalone document. It is Part II of the statutory Advance Health Care Directive form at Utah Code § 75A-9-110. You use it to record preferences on CPR, mechanical ventilation, tube feeding, dialysis, antibiotics, and pain management.

Healthcare Power of Attorney: Part I of Your Advance Directive

Part I of the same form lets you name a healthcare agent — the person who makes medical decisions when you cannot. This is what other states sometimes call a "medical power of attorney" or "healthcare proxy."

Your agent steps in only after a physician determines you lack capacity. Until then, you make your own decisions. The agent's authority extends to treatment consent, HIPAA access, facility transfers, and post-death decisions like autopsy and organ donation.

In Utah, you do not need a separate healthcare power of attorney document. Part I of the advance directive covers it.

Where a POLST Fits In

A POLST (Provider Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment) is not a legal planning document at all — it is a clinical medical order signed by a physician, APRN, or PA after a face-to-face consultation.

The key differences:

A POLST is the only document that prevents paramedics from starting full CPR during a 911 call. Your advance directive controls what happens inside a hospital. If you are seriously ill, you need both.

The POLST is traditionally printed on bright blue paper so emergency responders can spot it immediately — posted on the refrigerator, next to the bed, or in a visible location. Electronic versions are also valid.

Medical Power of Attorney vs Advance Directive

In Utah, these are the same thing. The "medical power of attorney" is the agent designation in Part I of your advance directive. You do not need to hire an attorney or file a separate legal document to appoint a healthcare proxy.

Some states treat the healthcare proxy and the living will as separate documents. Utah consolidated them in 2026 specifically to prevent the common problem of having a proxy appointed in one document but treatment preferences recorded in another — or worse, conflicting instructions across multiple forms.

What You Actually Need to Do

For most Utah adults, you need one document: the statutory Advance Health Care Directive. It covers your healthcare agent appointment and your living will instructions in a single form requiring one adult witness (no notary needed).

If you have a serious illness or are entering a care facility, ask your physician about adding a POLST to translate your directive's goals into immediate medical orders.

The Utah Advance Directive & Living Will Kit explains every section of the statutory form, clarifies how your directive coordinates with a POLST, and includes a verification checklist to confirm your document meets current 2026 requirements.

See more Utah guides →