Medical Power of Attorney Arkansas: Healthcare Decisions After Your Child Turns 18

Your child turns 18, and the next time they are in the emergency room, the doctor will not speak to you. Not about the diagnosis, not about treatment options, not about anything — unless your adult child has signed the right legal documents giving you explicit authority.

This is not hypothetical. Arkansas medical providers strictly enforce the Healthcare Decisions Act, and parents lose all medical decision-making authority the moment their child reaches the age of majority.

The Healthcare Decisions Act: What It Actually Covers

The Arkansas Healthcare Decisions Act (A.C.A. § 20-6-101 et seq.) allows a young adult to appoint a healthcare agent — typically a parent — to make medical decisions on their behalf. The key distinction from a financial power of attorney is that this document activates only when the young adult is temporarily or permanently unable to communicate their own wishes.

As long as your adult child can express a preference about their care, they remain the primary decision-maker. The healthcare POA sits dormant until it is actually needed.

Healthcare POA vs. Living Will: Two Separate Documents

Arkansas legally separates these instruments, although families typically draft them together:

Healthcare power of attorney — appoints an agent to make treatment decisions when the principal cannot communicate. Covers everything from medication choices to surgical consent to facility placement.

Living will (Declaration under the Rights of the Terminally Ill or Permanently Unconscious Act, § 20-17-202) — provides written instructions about end-of-life care. It speaks for the individual when they are terminally ill or permanently unconscious, addressing feeding tubes, ventilators, and resuscitation.

For disability families, the healthcare power of attorney is almost always the more important document. The living will addresses a narrow end-of-life scenario; the healthcare POA covers the everyday medical decisions that families deal with routinely.

Signing Requirements That Trip Families Up

The healthcare directive must be signed by the principal (your young adult) and either notarized or witnessed by two competent adults. If you go the witness route, strict rules apply:

• Neither witness can be the designated healthcare agent
• At least one witness must not be related by blood, marriage, or adoption and must not be entitled to any portion of the principal's estate

Most families choose notarization because it is cleaner and avoids these witness-eligibility complications.

HIPAA Authorization: A Separate Form You Also Need

A healthcare power of attorney lets a parent make decisions. A HIPAA authorization (under 45 C.F.R. § 164.508) lets a parent receive information — diagnosis details, test results, billing records, prescription history.

These are not the same thing, and you need both. A parent can hold healthcare POA and still be locked out of medical records if no HIPAA disclosure form is on file.

The HIPAA authorization is simpler to execute. Your young adult signs a standard disclosure form naming the people authorized to receive medical information. No notarization required, though having it notarized adds a layer of credibility with hospital systems.

For disability families in Arkansas, the practical move is to prepare the healthcare POA, the HIPAA authorization, and the FERPA release for educational records as a package. Execute all three on or immediately after the 18th birthday.

When a Healthcare POA Will Not Work

If your young adult cannot understand the basic concept of choosing someone to help with medical decisions — even with plain-language explanations and supported decision-making assistance — they likely lack the capacity to sign a healthcare power of attorney.

In that scenario, the path to medical decision-making authority runs through the probate court. A limited guardianship of the person can grant a parent the specific right to consent to medical treatment while leaving other civil rights intact.

The Arkansas Adult Guardianship & Alternatives Guide covers both paths — the private healthcare POA route and the court-supervised guardianship route — with step-by-step checklists and the exact execution requirements for each.

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