Colorado Medical Power of Attorney for a Disabled Adult

The Medical Access Problem That Hits on the 18th Birthday

The call usually comes from a doctor's office or hospital: "Your child is 18 now. We can't share their medical information with you or accept your consent for treatment without your adult child's authorization or other legal authority." Under HIPAA, your adult child's medical records are theirs to control, and treatment decisions generally require their authorization or other legal authority — even if they have a significant intellectual or developmental disability.

A Medical Durable Power of Attorney (MDPOA) solves this without guardianship. It's voluntary, it's revocable, and it keeps your child in control of their own healthcare — with you as a designated backup when they can't make decisions themselves.

How a Colorado MDPOA Works

Under C.R.S. § 15-14-506, a Medical Durable Power of Attorney lets your adult child (the "principal") name you (the "agent") to make healthcare decisions when they lack capacity to do so themselves.

The agent can:

• Consent to or refuse medical treatments, surgical procedures, and diagnostic tests
• Access medical records and communicate with healthcare providers
• Choose doctors, hospitals, and care facilities
• Make end-of-life care decisions if specified in the document

The agent cannot:

• Make decisions while the principal has capacity
• Authorize involuntary psychiatric commitment
• Make financial or property decisions (that requires a separate Financial Power of Attorney)
• Override the principal's conscious, expressed objections to treatment

The Capacity Question

Here's where families get nervous. The principal must understand what they're signing — specifically, that they're giving someone authority to make medical decisions on their behalf. This is called "requisite legal capacity," and it's a lower bar than many parents expect.

Your child doesn't need to understand complex medical terminology. They need to grasp the basic concept: "I'm choosing Mom/Dad to make medical decisions for me if I can't make them myself."

For many young adults with intellectual disabilities, this is achievable, especially with careful explanation and appropriate communication supports. Communication supports may help, but the principal must still understand the delegation at the time of signing.

If your child truly cannot understand delegation at any level, an MDPOA won't work — and guardianship may be the next option.

Execution Requirements in Colorado

Colorado's requirements for an MDPOA are relatively straightforward:

• Written document signed and dated by the principal
• Notarization or witnesses are not legally required but are strongly recommended — hospitals and providers are far more likely to accept an MDPOA without pushback if it's been notarized
• The document should clearly state that it is durable (meaning it survives the principal's incapacity — that's the whole point)
• It can be immediate (effective right away) or springing (activates only when a specified condition occurs)

For families of disabled adults, an immediate MDPOA is usually the practical choice. Springing documents require the specified condition to be established before the agent can act, which adds delay during emergencies.

Don't Forget the HIPAA Release

An MDPOA lets you make decisions. A HIPAA release lets you access information — and you may need information access even when your child has capacity and is making their own decisions.

A simple HIPAA authorization form lets your child grant you ongoing access to their medical records, lab results, and provider communications. Unlike the MDPOA, it doesn't transfer any decision-making authority. Your child can revoke it at any time.

Having both documents — an MDPOA for decision-making authority when needed and a HIPAA release for day-to-day information access — covers the full spectrum of medical involvement.

Combining MDPOA with Other Supports

An MDPOA handles medical decisions. But healthcare is only one piece of the transition puzzle. Most families also need:

• A Supported Decision-Making agreement for daily life decisions
• A Financial Power of Attorney for money management
• A representative payee designation for SSI/SSDI benefits

The Colorado Guardianship & Alternatives Guide walks through exactly how to layer these tools together — with decision worksheets to identify which areas of your child's life need formal legal authority and which can be handled with lighter-touch supports.

What to Do If a Provider Won't Accept It

Occasionally, a hospital or doctor's office will insist that "only a guardianship" gives you authority over your child's care. That's legally incorrect in Colorado, but it happens.

When it does: present the executed MDPOA and cite C.R.S. § 15-14-506. If the provider has a legal department, escalate to them. Healthcare systems train their legal teams on these instruments; front-desk staff sometimes don't know the law.

If you also have a Supported Decision-Making agreement, the safe harbor provision in C.R.S. § 15-14-806 gives the provider explicit liability protection for honoring it. Between the MDPOA and the SDM safe harbor, most provider resistance dissolves.

For the full execution checklist and provider communication strategies, see the Colorado Guardianship & Alternatives Guide.

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