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Start the free role checkWhat advance directives are
Advance directives are documents you sign while you have capacity that let trusted people make decisions for you — financial and medical — if illness or injury later prevents you from deciding yourself. Without them, your family may have to ask a Virginia circuit court to appoint a guardian or conservator, which takes time and expense.
The core Virginia documents
Power of attorney for finances
Authorizes an agent to handle your finances and property; the agent acts in good faith, within the authority granted and in your best interest, and keeps a record of all receipts, disbursements and transactions (Va. Code § 64.2-1612). The agent may exercise your powers to revoke, amend or distribute a trust only where the power of attorney expressly authorizes it and the trust's terms do not expressly prohibit it (Va. Code § 64.2-751(E)) — so who you name, and what you grant, matters.
Your health care agent, and who decides without one (Va. Code § 54.1-2986)
A written advance directive, signed in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, may appoint an agent to make health care decisions for you if you are later determined incapable of making an informed decision (Va. Code § 54.1-2983). Without one, the attending physician may act on the authorization of a guardian, then your spouse, an adult child, a parent, an adult sibling and other relatives in the order the statute sets (Va. Code § 54.1-2986).
Your treatment wishes in the advance directive (Va. Code § 54.1-2983)
The same advance directive may state the health care you authorize or refuse, including life-prolonging procedures, and an anatomical gift — signed before two subscribing witnesses (Va. Code § 54.1-2983); the Code prints a suggested form (Va. Code § 54.1-2984).
Guardian nomination & HIPAA authorization
If a guardianship ever becomes necessary, a Virginia circuit court hears it; an advance directive names who decides your health care, and a HIPAA authorization lets named people receive your medical information. Often added to round out the set.
Why you need these even with a Trust
A revocable living Trust handles the assets inside it, but it does not make medical decisions, and it doesn't cover assets you never transferred in. Advance directives fill those gaps — and together with a will and a Trust, they keep decisions in the hands of people you chose, not a court.
Putting the set together in Virginia
Which directives you need, and how they're worded, depends on your situation, your family, and your wishes. This page is general information, not legal advice. A free role check can show you where you stand, and a Virginia attorney can prepare directives that fit you.
General information about Virginia law, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Virginia advance directive made?
- Any adult capable of making an informed decision may make a written advance directive, signed in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, specifying health care authorized or refused and appointing an agent (Va. Code § 54.1-2983); the Code prints a suggested form (Va. Code § 54.1-2984).
- Who decides health care in Virginia without an advance directive?
- The attending physician may act on the authorization of a guardian, then the spouse, an adult child, a parent, an adult sibling and other relatives in the order Va. Code § 54.1-2986 sets.
- Is a power of attorney the same as an advance directive?
- No. A power of attorney appoints an agent for property and financial matters, who acts in good faith and keeps records (Va. Code § 64.2-1612); an advance directive addresses health care (Va. Code § 54.1-2983).
General information about Virginia law, not legal advice.