Texas publishes a standard medical power of attorney form, free to download. That is an advantage, but it also leads people to treat the document as paperwork rather than a decision. The parts that cause trouble later are rarely the blanks at the top.
Here is what the form does, how to sign it so it holds up, and the limits Texas law places on your agent no matter what you write.
It names a person, your agent, to make health care decisions for you when you cannot make them yourself.
Within health care, that authority is broad: consent to treatment, refuse it, withdraw consent, decide about life-sustaining measures. The form lets you limit it in writing, and most people leave that blank, granting full power over treatment decisions. Often the right call, but it should be a choice rather than an oversight.
Almost any competent adult, with a few exceptions. Your agent cannot be:
Name an alternate as well. If your first choice is traveling or unreachable when a hospital needs an answer, the alternate keeps the document working. Beyond eligibility, pick someone who will say what you would have said, a different quality from being the person closest to you. Choosing the right decision-maker deserves real thought.
Two options, either one valid: sign in front of a notary public, or sign before two competent adult witnesses.
The witness route is where things go wrong. State law disqualifies certain people from serving as one of the two witnesses:
So handing the form to your spouse and your son does not satisfy the rule. At least one witness must have no family tie and no stake in your estate. A notary sidesteps the list entirely, which is why many people choose that route. The form also contains a disclosure statement explaining what you are signing, with a place to acknowledge you have read it. Read it rather than skipping to the signature line.
Not when you sign. This gets reported incorrectly all the time, usually by articles describing other states.
The document takes effect once you sign it and deliver it to your agent. Your agent's power to decide is separate. It begins only when your attending physician certifies in writing that you are incompetent to make your own health care decisions and files that certification in your medical record. Until then, you decide, and if you regain competence the authority returns to you.
Your objection also outranks your agent. Texas law says treatment cannot be given to you or withheld over your objection, whether or not a medical power of attorney is in effect and whether or not you are competent at the time.
Texas reserves five decisions. Your agent cannot consent to:
The law treats these as too personal to delegate on a standard form.
Yes, at any time. You can revoke by telling your agent or a health care provider, orally or in writing, and that works regardless of your mental state. Signing a new form also replaces the old one.
Divorce deserves a note, because older articles get it wrong. Since 2018, divorce does not void the whole document. It ends a former spouse's authority as agent, unless the form says otherwise, and the rest stands. Another reason to name an alternate.
Health care, and nothing else. Your agent gets no authority over bank accounts, bills, or property, which is why a separate financial power of attorney belongs alongside it.
It is also not a living will. A directive to physicians records your own end-of-life wishes, and an out-of-hospital DNR is different again. These are three distinct medical directives, and having one does not cover the others.
Hospitals review these documents in a hurry, usually at the worst moment. A form filled out thoughtfully and executed correctly answers the question on the spot. One signed by two relatives invites a problem nobody has time to sort out.
Campbell Law Firm, PC prepares medical powers of attorney as part of broader estate planning for clients in Tyler, Mineola, and across East Texas. Attorney Bradley S. Campbell has practiced law for more than 35 years. If a form is already sitting in a drawer, a Tyler estate planning attorney can confirm it was signed properly and still names the people you would choose today. Book a consultation to learn more.
References: The News-Gazette (June 14, 2026) "The Law Q&A | What happens when living will, power of attorney collide?" | ElderLawAnswers (Dec. 3, 2025) "Can POA Transfer Dad's Home to Disabled Sister?"
