Supported Decision-Making Template Georgia: SDM, HIPAA, and POA Forms

SDM Agreements: No Official State Template

Georgia has not enacted a comprehensive supported decision-making statute, so there is no state-issued SDM agreement form. Unlike Texas, which provides a statutory SDM form, or Delaware, which has legislated specific SDM agreement provisions, Georgia families must create their own agreements or adapt templates from national organizations.

I DECIDE Georgia, a coalition supported by the Georgia Advocacy Office and the Council on Developmental Disabilities, publishes SDM toolkits and training materials. The National Resource Center for Supported Decision-Making also offers model agreements adaptable to Georgia's legal context.

Because Georgia SDM agreements lack standalone statutory authority to bind third parties, the agreement itself is persuasive rather than enforceable. It documents the individual's support network, the domains where supporters provide assistance, and the individual's expressed preferences. Its legal weight comes primarily through O.C.G.A. § 29-4-1(f), which requires probate courts to consider less restrictive alternatives before granting guardianship — a well-documented SDM agreement serves as evidence that a support system is functioning.

What an Effective SDM Agreement Should Include

Even without a state template, certain elements make an SDM agreement more useful in practice:

• The individual's name and their expressed agreement to receive decision-making support (the individual remains the final decision-maker in all domains)
• Named supporters and the specific domains each person assists with — healthcare, finances, education, daily living, employment
• How supporters will help: gathering information, explaining options, accompanying the individual to appointments, helping communicate decisions to third parties
• Clear boundaries: supporters assist and advise but do not make decisions for the individual
• Signatures of the individual and all named supporters, preferably notarized (not legally required, but increases credibility with third parties)
• A review date — SDM agreements should be revisited annually or when circumstances change

HIPAA Authorization for Disabled Adults

HIPAA authorization forms are governed by federal law (45 C.F.R. § 164.508), so there's no Georgia-specific version. The individual signs a standard HIPAA authorization naming the people who can access their protected health information — typically parents, siblings, or other caregivers.

The authorization must specify: who can receive the information, what types of information are covered (medical records, treatment plans, billing, all of the above), the purpose of the disclosure, and an expiration date or event.

For disabled adults with capacity, signing a HIPAA authorization at or after 18 ensures parents maintain access to medical records without interruption. If capacity is uncertain, arrange the authorization in advance and have the young adult sign it once legally able; the document remains valid after the birthday unless revoked.

If the individual lacks capacity to sign, HIPAA authorization cannot be executed independently. If a valid Georgia Advance Directive for Healthcare naming the parent was signed while the individual had capacity, it can provide medical-records access; otherwise parents will need a court-ordered guardianship over healthcare decisions.

Georgia's Statutory Financial Power of Attorney

Georgia provides an official financial power of attorney form under O.C.G.A. § 10-6B-70. The form is available from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. Using the statutory form isn't mandatory — custom POAs are valid in Georgia — but the statutory form carries a presumption of validity that can reduce pushback from banks and other financial institutions.

The signing requirements under O.C.G.A. § 10-6B-5 are specific: the principal's signature (or directed signature in their conscious presence), one competent witness who is not named as an agent, and a notary public (who cannot also serve as the witness or be named as an agent). All three must be present at the same ceremony.

The critical threshold remains contractual capacity. The principal must understand what authority they're delegating and the consequences of doing so. For adults with intellectual disabilities, this means they must be able to articulate, in basic terms, that they're letting a specific person handle their money. If that understanding isn't present, the POA is invalid regardless of proper execution formalities.

Layering Documents for Complete Coverage

No single document covers all domains. Effective planning for a disabled adult in Georgia typically combines several instruments: an SDM agreement as the philosophical foundation, a Georgia Advance Directive for Healthcare (O.C.G.A. § 31-32-4) for medical decisions, a durable financial POA for banking and financial management, HIPAA authorizations for medical records access, and FERPA releases for educational records.

The Georgia Adult Guardianship & Alternatives Guide walks through how to assemble this complete planning package, including which documents require capacity and what to do when capacity falls short of the signing threshold.

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