Who should speak with your medical team if you cannot make your own health care decisions? What should that person know about your treatment preferences? Willis Law Group helps New Jersey families address both questions through advance health care planning.

Health Care Proxy vs. Living Will in New Jersey

The New Jersey Department of Health’s advance-directive guidance distinguishes two documents: a proxy directive names a health care representative, while an instruction directive, commonly called a living will, records treatment wishes. An advance directive can address either or both. A proxy directive is also described as a durable power of attorney for health care.

Choosing a Health Care Representative

Think beyond who lives closest. Discuss whether the person understands your wishes, can communicate with clinicians, and is willing to advocate for your preferences. Identify an alternate and talk through concerns before signing documents.

  • Availability: who can be reached and how should the medical team contact them?
  • Understanding: have you discussed the values and treatment preferences that should guide decisions?
  • Continuity: who should serve if the first person is unavailable?
  • Coordination: do existing documents identify the same representative and current contact details?

Documenting Treatment Wishes in a Living Will

A useful discussion starts with your values and questions for your clinician. Review how you want those values expressed and where instructions need clarification. Your attorney can help organize the legal document; your medical team can explain treatment choices and their implications.

The State provides an instruction directive or living will form (PDF) and a proxy directive form (PDF). These are government resources, available independently of retaining our firm. Review the instructions and your circumstances before signing.

Financial and Medical Authority Need Separate Attention

A financial power of attorney and a health care directive address different decisions. Likewise, a revocable living trust may address trust property without resolving who should communicate your medical wishes. Bring all existing documents so the people, roles, and instructions can be reviewed together.

Signing a New Jersey Advance Directive: Witnesses or Acknowledgment

New Jersey provides alternative execution routes under N.J.S.A. 26:2H-56. A signed and dated directive can be executed with two subscribing adult witnesses; the designated health care representative cannot serve as a witness. Alternatively, it can be acknowledged before a notary public, attorney at law, or another authorized official. The Department of Health’s execution FAQs explain the witness and notarization options. Do not assume that both two witnesses and notarization are always required. Review the proposed document and signing arrangements before execution.

Keeping Your Instructions Available

Ask how to share the completed documents with your representative and care providers and where copies should be kept. Review the plan after a change in health, family circumstances, residence, or the person named to serve. Tell us if you have signed documents in another state so the review accounts for them.

Official Forms, FAQs, and Your Next Step

The Department of Health’s advance directive forms and FAQs explain execution options, representatives, and common questions. New Jersey’s governing framework is the Advance Directives for Health Care Act, N.J.S.A. 26:2H-53 et seq. Bring existing directives and a list of questions for your planning meeting.

Founding attorney Michael T. Willis brings 25 years of legal experience. Request a 30-minute initial estate planning meeting to discuss your circumstances, existing documents, and proposed scope of work. Confirm your appointment at one of our office locations before traveling. For New York matters, use our separate New York estate-planning guidance.

Return to New Jersey estate planning or organize your questions with our client forms and intake resources. Do not send confidential financial or medical documents through the general website inquiry form.