Health Care Power of Attorney Requirements in Georgia

At a glance

Georgia combines the health care power of attorney and the living will into a single document: the advance directive for health care. Part One appoints your health care agent — the person who makes medical decisions for you — and Part Two records your treatment wishes. This page is about Part One. The rules are in the Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care Act, O.C.G.A. §§ 31-32-1 to 31-32-14, enacted in 2007 to replace the older separate living-will and durable-health-care-POA forms.

Requirements one by one

Governing law and document

Under § 31-32-5(a), "[a]ny person of sound mind who is emancipated or 18 years of age or older may execute a document which ... [a]ppoints a health care agent." A "health care agent" is broadly defined as a person appointed to consent to, refuse, or withdraw "any type of health care" when the declarant "is unable or chooses not to make health care decisions" (§ 31-32-2(6)). Georgia offers an optional statutory form in § 31-32-4, but you may use any other complying form (§ 31-32-5(b)).

Who can sign

The signer must be "of sound mind" and either emancipated or 18 or older. The document must be "in writing, signed by the declarant or by some other person in the declarant's presence and at the declarant's express direction," and witnessed under subsection (c) (§ 31-32-5(a)).

Witnesses or notary

Georgia requires two witnesses and no notary. Section 31-32-5(c)(1) provides that the directive "shall be attested and subscribed in the presence of the declarant by two witnesses who are of sound mind and at least 18 years of age." One convenience built into the statute: the witnesses "do not have to be together or present when the declarant signs" — each can witness separately.

Who can't witness or serve

The witness rules screen out people with a stake in your care or your estate. Under § 31-32-5(c)(2), neither witness may be a person who "[w]as selected to serve as the declarant's health care agent," who "[w]ill knowingly inherit anything from the declarant or otherwise knowingly gain a financial benefit from the declarant's death," or who "[i]s directly involved in the declarant's health care." And "[n]ot more than one of the witnesses may be an employee, agent, or medical staff member of the health care facility in which the declarant is receiving health care" (§ 31-32-5(c)(3)).

On serving as agent, § 31-32-5(d) bars only a "physician or health care provider who is directly involved in the declarant's health care." A relative, friend, or even a doctor who is not treating you may serve.

When the agent can act

Georgia's trigger is functional, not a formal incapacity certificate. The agent's authority is available when the declarant "is unable or chooses not to make health care decisions" (§ 31-32-2(6)) — which means you can let your agent step in even while you are capable, if you choose. But you stay in charge as long as you can: under § 31-32-7(a), the agent "shall not have the authority to make a particular health care decision different from or contrary to the declarant's decision" while you "[are] able to understand the general nature of the health care procedure." Ending life-sustaining procedures or nutrition/hydration is the one place Georgia adds a formal gate: two physicians (one the attending physician) must certify a terminal condition or state of permanent unconsciousness (§ 31-32-9(b)).

Agent's powers and limits

The default grant is broad. Section 31-32-7(e)(1) authorizes the agent "to consent to and authorize or refuse, or to withhold or withdraw consent to, any and all types of medical care," including medication, surgery, life-sustaining procedures, and the provision of nourishment or hydration. The agent can also admit or discharge you from facilities, access your records, and (unless limited) direct autopsy, anatomical gifts, and disposition of your remains (§ 31-32-7(e)). The statutory limits: the agent may not consent to "sterilization or involuntary hospitalization or involuntary treatment covered by Title 37" (§ 31-32-7(e)(1)), and the statutory form adds that the agent has no power over psychosurgery (§ 31-32-4).

How to revoke

You may revoke "at any time ... without regard to the declarant's mental state or competency" (§ 31-32-6(a)) — by signing a new inconsistent directive, destroying the document, signing and dating a written revocation, or clearly saying you revoke it in front of a witness 18 or older who signs a confirming writing within 30 days. Georgia also has an unusually broad relationship rule in § 31-32-6(b): marrying revokes a non-spouse agent you had named, and a later divorce or annulment revokes a spouse you named — unless the directive expressly says otherwise.

Out-of-state directives

Section 31-32-5(b) honors out-of-state documents: one that appoints an agent or directs end-of-life care and "was executed in another state and is valid under the laws of the state where executed shall be treated as an advance directive for health care which complies with this Code section."

What trips people up

• No notary — two qualified witnesses do it. Georgia does not require or offer notarization for the advance directive (§ 31-32-5(c)). Getting it notarized but short a witness does not make it valid.
• Anyone who inherits from you is blocked as a witness. A witness cannot be someone who will inherit from you or profit from your death (§ 31-32-5(c)(2)(B)). Because that usually includes a spouse or child, plan to use neutral witnesses.
• Marriage and divorce both rewrite your agent. If you named a friend and then marry, that friend's appointment is revoked (§ 31-32-6(b)). If you named your spouse and later divorce, that appointment is revoked too. Re-sign your directive after either event to be sure it names the person you want.
• Only one facility staffer can witness. If you sign in a hospital or nursing home, no more than one of your two witnesses may work there, and neither may be involved in your care (§ 31-32-5(c)(2)(C), (c)(3)).

Common questions

Does a Georgia advance directive need to be notarized? No. It needs two qualified witnesses who are of sound mind and at least 18 (§ 31-32-5(c)(1)); there is no notary requirement.

Can my spouse be a witness to my advance directive? Usually not. A spouse typically will inherit from you, and § 31-32-5(c)(2)(B) bars anyone who will gain financially from your death from witnessing. A spouse can still be named as your agent — just not serve as a witness.

We divorced after I signed — is my ex still my agent? No. A divorce or annulment automatically revokes a former spouse's designation as your health care agent (§ 31-32-6(b)), unless the directive expressly says it survives.

Can my agent decide to stop life support? Yes, but only after two physicians (one your attending physician) certify that you are in a terminal condition or permanent unconsciousness (§ 31-32-9(b)), and the agent cannot consent to sterilization or involuntary psychiatric commitment (§ 31-32-7(e)(1)).

Statutes and sources

• O.C.G.A. § 31-32-2 — definitions, including "health care agent" (acts when the declarant is unable or chooses not to decide). https://archive.org/download/gov.ga.ocga.2024/T31%20%28V23%29%202019_djvu.txt (accessed 2026-07-16)
• O.C.G.A. § 31-32-5 — execution: sound mind and 18 or emancipated; two witnesses; witness and agent disqualifications; out-of-state recognition. https://archive.org/download/gov.ga.ocga.2024/T31%20%28V23%29%202019_djvu.txt (accessed 2026-07-16)
• O.C.G.A. § 31-32-6 — revocation methods; marriage and divorce revoke an agent designation. https://archive.org/download/gov.ga.ocga.2024/T31%20%28V23%29%202019_djvu.txt (accessed 2026-07-16)
• O.C.G.A. § 31-32-7 — agent's powers and their limits (no sterilization or involuntary Title 37 treatment); declarant stays in control while able. https://archive.org/download/gov.ga.ocga.2024/T31%20%28V23%29%202019_djvu.txt (accessed 2026-07-16)
• O.C.G.A. § 31-32-9 — two-physician certification of terminal condition or permanent unconsciousness before withdrawing life-sustaining procedures. https://archive.org/download/gov.ga.ocga.2024/T31%20%28V23%29%202019_djvu.txt (accessed 2026-07-16)