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Free South Carolina Medical Power of Attorney Form

A South Carolina medical power of attorney must follow the statutory health care power of attorney form set out in state law. Our step-by-step questionnaire keeps you on that format and flags who can witness.

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  • E-sign included

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What Is a Medical Power of Attorney in South Carolina?

South Carolina calls this a health care power of attorney. Under S.C. Code § 62-5-504, one signed on or after January 1, 2007 must be substantially in the statutory form.

South Carolina Requirements for a Health Care Power of Attorney

The statutory form itself spells out the rules.

Two Witnesses Are Required

The form states that it will not be valid unless two persons sign as witnesses. Each witness to your South Carolina medical power of attorney watches you sign, or hears you confirm the signature is yours.

A Notary Is Optional

A 2006 amendment added an optional notary acknowledgment to the form. It is not a substitute for the two witnesses.

What Your Agent Can Do

Unless you say otherwise, your agent has the same authority over your health care as you would, including decisions about life-sustaining treatment. You can list treatments you do not want, or ones you want to be sure you receive.

Who Cannot Witness a South Carolina Medical Power of Attorney?

South Carolina’s list is long. None of these people may witness:

  • Your spouse, children, grandchildren, and other descendants
  • Your parents, grandparents, and other ancestors
  • Your siblings and their descendants, or the spouse of any of these relatives
  • Anyone directly financially responsible for your medical care
  • Anyone named in your will, or who would inherit if you have no will
  • A beneficiary of a life insurance policy on your life
  • Your agent or successor agent
  • Your physician or your physician’s employee
  • Anyone with a claim against your estate, such as a person you owe money

If you are a patient in a health facility, the form also limits how many witnesses may be facility employees.

Look Beyond Family for Witnesses

With relatives, heirs, and even life insurance beneficiaries ruled out, many people find it easiest to ask neighbors, coworkers, or friends with no stake in their estate. Line them up before signing day.

How to Sign Your South Carolina Medical Power of Attorney

Take your South Carolina medical power of attorney form through these steps:

  1. Use the statutory form and fill in your agent and successor agent.
  2. Add any statements of treatments you want or refuse.
  3. Complete the tube feeding choices and the HIPAA authorization section.
  4. Line up two witnesses who clear every item on the disqualification list.
  5. Sign in front of both witnesses, then have them sign.
  6. Add the optional notary acknowledgment if you want it.

What Your South Carolina Form Must Include

Because South Carolina requires the statutory form, the layout carries legal weight. The form includes:

  • An information section explaining your agent’s power, including over life-sustaining treatment
  • Your agent and a successor agent
  • Your statements of desires and any limits
  • Designation choices about tube feeding
  • A HIPAA authorization for your agent
  • Two witness signatures, with an optional notary acknowledgment

Filling in each part of your South Carolina medical power of attorney avoids gaps a hospital might question.