Colby Act Alabama Supported Decision Making

What the Colby Act Changed

Before the Colby Act took effect on August 1, 2023, Alabama had no statute governing supported decision-making agreements. Families who wanted a formal, legally recognized alternative to guardianship had limited options — mostly powers of attorney and informal arrangements that carried no statutory weight when challenged by a hospital, bank, or school.

The Colby Act, codified under Chapter 1B of Title 26 of the Alabama Code, changed that. It creates a legal framework where an adult with cognitive or functional limitations retains full legal capacity while designating trusted people — called supporters — to help them gather information, evaluate choices, and communicate decisions.

The critical distinction: a supporter does not make decisions for the person. They assist with the decision-making process itself. The person signing the agreement remains the legal decision-maker. This means banks, healthcare providers, and schools are expected to recognize the agreement and work with the supporters — and third parties who do so in good faith are protected from civil liability.

Requirements for a Valid Agreement

Alabama Code § 26-1B-6 sets clear structural requirements. Missing any of them can render the agreement unenforceable:

The agreement must be in writing. Verbal arrangements don't qualify.

It must name at least one supporter who is at least 18 years old. Most families name parents, siblings, or other close relatives, but any adult can serve.

It must specify the areas where support is needed. The statute allows designation across healthcare, financial management, housing, education, and employment. A family might authorize support in healthcare and education but not in financial management, for example.

If multiple supporters are named, the agreement must describe how they coordinate. This prevents conflicts between supporters who disagree about what the person wants.

The person signing must do so voluntarily, free from coercion, in the physical presence of a notary public. Not just witnessed — notarized. This is different from Alabama's advance directive for health care, which requires two witnesses but not a notary.

Each supporter signs a separate consent block acknowledging their relationship to the person, their willingness to serve, and their acceptance of the fiduciary duties the statute imposes.

The statutory template is provided in Alabama Code § 26-1B-4. The agreement should substantially follow this form.

What Supporters Can and Cannot Do

Supporters operate under strict fiduciary standards laid out in Alabama Code § 26-1B-5:

• They must prioritize the person's actual wishes and preferences, not the supporter's own judgment of what's "best"
• They cannot exert undue influence over decisions
• They cannot receive financial compensation for serving as a supporter
• They cannot access the person's private information without written consent

The key limitation: supporters cannot make decisions for the person or sign documents on their behalf. If the person needs someone who can sign contracts or manage bank accounts independently, they need an applicable power of attorney; medical treatment decisions require the separate advance directive's healthcare proxy or — in more restrictive cases — a court-appointed guardian.

How It Compares to Guardianship

The Colby Act and guardianship occupy opposite ends of a spectrum.

A supported decision-making agreement preserves all of the person's legal rights. They can still vote, marry, choose where to live, manage their own money, and make their own medical decisions. The agreement just provides a structured support system around those decisions.

Guardianship, by contrast, strips some or all of those rights and transfers them to the guardian. Alabama probate courts can issue limited guardianships (authority over specific domains) or plenary guardianships (total authority), but either way the person loses some measure of legal autonomy.

Alabama courts are statutorily required to explore less restrictive alternatives before granting a guardianship petition. A validly executed Colby Act agreement can serve as evidence that the person's needs can be met without court intervention — which may be enough for a probate judge to deny a guardianship petition entirely.

Equally important: signing a supported decision-making agreement cannot be used by a court, school, or healthcare provider as evidence that the person lacks capacity. The Colby Act explicitly prohibits that inference.

Practical Challenges Families Should Anticipate

The legal framework is clear, but real-world recognition lags behind the statute in some settings. Common friction points:

Bank branch managers who have never heard of the Colby Act and refuse to accept the agreement. Bringing a copy of the statute (Alabama Code § 26-1B-8 and § 26-1B-9, which establish third-party recognition and good-faith liability protection) can help resolve this on the spot.

Hospital admissions staff who default to asking for a guardian or power of attorney. A certified copy of the supported decision-making agreement, paired with a HIPAA authorization form signed by the young adult, usually resolves the issue.

School administrators who conflate SDM with the educational representative process. They are separate mechanisms. The supported decision-making agreement is a general tool under state law. The educational representative appointment is a specific administrative process through the state Department of Education for students who lack capacity to consent to IEP decisions. A student can have both.

If a third party persistently refuses to recognize a valid agreement, the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program (ADAP) can intervene — that kind of systemic resistance is exactly what the state's protection and advocacy system exists to address.

Revocation and Termination

The person who signed the agreement can modify or revoke it at any time in writing. No court approval is needed, no waiting period applies.

The agreement automatically terminates if all named supporters resign without successors being designated, if the person who signed it dies, or if a court determines the person lacks capacity or that a supporter has engaged in abuse or financial exploitation.

Getting Started

The Alabama Adult Guardianship & Alternatives Guide includes the full Colby Act framework alongside a six-domain decision worksheet that helps families determine whether a supported decision-making agreement — alone or in combination with other tools like a financial power of attorney or healthcare proxy — is sufficient for their young adult's situation, or whether guardianship deserves consideration.

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