Practice Areas
Health Care Proxy Attorney Serving Massachusetts
A health care proxy appoints the person who will speak for you on medical decisions if you cannot speak for yourself — the single most important document most Massachusetts families do not have.
Overview
Health Care Proxies in Massachusetts
Under Massachusetts General Laws chapter 201D, a health care proxy lets you name an agent to make medical decisions on your behalf. It takes effect only when your attending physician determines in writing that you lack the capacity to make or communicate those decisions — and your authority returns the moment you recover. Until then, you decide for yourself.
People who move here from other states are often surprised to learn that Massachusetts has no statute making a living will legally binding. A written statement of your wishes about life-sustaining treatment still matters a great deal, but it guides your agent rather than binding your doctors. The proxy is the operative document, because it puts a real person with real authority in the room.
Massachusetts also permits only one agent to act at a time — co-agents are not allowed, since hospitals need a single decision-maker. Naming an alternate is essential, because the person you would most want may be unreachable, travelling, or too close to the situation.
Paired with a HIPAA authorization, the proxy also solves a quieter problem: federal privacy law otherwise prevents your family from getting information from your doctors at exactly the moment they need it to make decisions.
Scope of Work
What we handle
Health care proxy designation
A Massachusetts health care proxy naming your agent and an alternate, executed with the witnesses the statute requires.
HIPAA authorizations
Releases that let the people you name receive medical records and speak with your providers — including before the proxy is ever activated.
Statement of wishes
An optional written directive recording your preferences on life-sustaining treatment, resuscitation, and comfort care, so your agent is deciding with guidance rather than guessing.
Coordination with your existing plan
Making sure your proxy, power of attorney, will, and any trust name the right people and do not contradict each other.
Distribution and record-keeping
Getting copies to your agent, your alternate, and your primary care physician's chart — because a document nobody can find helps nobody.
The Process
Three steps, start to finish
- 01
Consult
A free conversation about your family, your assets, and what you want to happen. You leave knowing what you need — even if that turns out to be less than you expected.
- 02
Draft
Your proxy, HIPAA authorization, and any statement of wishes are prepared together and reviewed with you and, where helpful, with the agent you have chosen.
- 03
Sign & share
Executed with the required witnesses, then distributed to your agent, your alternate, and your doctor so it is available the moment it is needed.
Have the conversation, then sign the document
The proxy is the legal half. The other half is telling the person you named what you would actually want. We walk clients through both, because an agent who knows your wishes makes better decisions than one holding only a piece of paper.
FAQ
Health Care Proxies: common questions
Is a health care proxy the same as a living will?
No, and this trips up a lot of people who move here. Massachusetts does not have a statute making living wills legally binding — the health care proxy is the operative document, because it appoints a real person with authority to decide. A written statement of your wishes still matters, but it guides your agent rather than binding your doctors.
Who should I choose as my health care agent?
Someone who can be reached quickly, stays calm in a hospital, will honor your wishes over their own preferences, and can be firm with medical staff and relatives. That is often not the same person you would name to handle your finances, and that is fine.
Can I name more than one health care agent?
Massachusetts allows only one agent to act at a time — co-agents are not permitted, because doctors need a single decision-maker. You can and should name an alternate who steps in if your first agent is unavailable or unwilling.
When does my health care agent take over?
Only after your attending physician determines in writing that you lack the capacity to make or communicate health care decisions. While you can speak for yourself, you decide — the proxy sits dormant until it is needed, and your authority returns if you recover.
What is a HIPAA authorization and why do I need one?
Federal privacy law bars providers from sharing your medical information without permission. A HIPAA authorization lets the people you name receive records and speak with your doctors even before the proxy is activated — which is exactly when families most need information to make decisions.
Where should I keep my health care proxy?
Give a copy to your agent and alternate, give one to your primary care physician for your chart, and bring one to any hospital admission. A proxy sitting in a safe deposit box at 2 a.m. on a Sunday helps nobody — copies are fully effective, so distribute them freely.
More questions? Read the full FAQ.
Keep Reading
Documents that work alongside this one
Ready to Protect Your Family's Future?
Tell us about your family and we will tell you exactly what your plan should include — no charge for the first conversation, and no obligation afterward.