Delaware Advanced Healthcare Directives: Plan Now to Protect Your Care

EmergencyNotaryServices.com
Jun 17
2 min read

Medical crises rarely arrive with warning. Completing your Advanced Healthcare Directives before an emergency strikes ensures your wishes are honored and spares loved ones from heart-wrenching guesswork. If you live in Delaware, the forms you need are just a click away—free to download on EmergencyNotaryServices.com courtesy of AARP.com.

Below, we explain what an advance-directive package typically contains, why each document matters, and how to get everything signed, witnessed, or notarized without hassle.

📘 What Exactly Is an Advanced Healthcare Directive?

In Delaware, an Advanced Healthcare Directive (sometimes called an Advance Health-Care Planning Packet) is a legal set of instructions that lets you:

State your preferences for treatment and end-of-life care
Appoint someone you trust to make medical decisions if you cannot
Guide physicians and hospitals when you’re preparing for hospitalization or facing a sudden illness

Because the First State recognizes your right to control your own care, having these papers in place gives doctors a clear, legally binding roadmap.

📂 Key Documents in a Delaware Advance-Directive Package

👤 Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care

Designate a health-care agent (sometimes called a proxy or representative) who can talk with your doctors, review treatment options, and authorize—or decline—procedures when you’re unable to speak.

📝 Living Will / Instruction Directive

Spell out the kinds of life-sustaining treatment you do (or do not) want—ventilators, feeding tubes, dialysis, pain management, hospice, and more—should you become permanently unconscious or terminally ill.

🔐 HIPAA Release

Federal privacy rules can block even close family from seeing your medical chart. This simple form grants your agent and named loved ones legal access to vital records so they can make informed decisions quickly.

❌ Delaware Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment (DMOST) or DNR (optional)

If you prefer not to receive CPR or advanced cardiac life support, ask your physician about a Do Not Resuscitate order or DMOST. These physician-signed documents travel with you—from home to ambulance to hospital—so every provider understands your choice.

⏰ Why Finish Your Forms Before You Need Them?

Emergencies happen fast. Clear directives let doctors act without delay.
Loved ones avoid conflict. Your decisions are in writing—no guessing, no guilt.
Delaware law respects your autonomy when your wishes are legally documented.

🖨️ Download your Delaware Advance-Directive packet here—free, fillable, and printable.

🖊️ Need Help with Witnessing or Notarization?

Delaware requires either two qualified witnesses or one state-commissioned notary for most advance-directive signatures.

Browse our Notary Directory to locate a nearby professional.
No listing in your zip code? Request a free quote and we’ll match you with a mobile or remote notary who can meet you at home, hospital, or office—often the same day.

Our notaries understand Delaware’s specific signing rules and will ensure your paperwork is 100 % compliant.

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✅ Take Charge of Your Healthcare Future—Today

Completing your Advanced Healthcare Directives in Delaware is an easy, compassionate gift to yourself and the people who care about you. Don’t wait for a crisis: