Health care directive in Montana: form, signing and who decides
The form, who can witness, who can be your agent and who decides if you have no directive in Montana.
Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.
Short answer
Declaration (living will) under the Montana Rights of the Terminally Ill Act; durable health care power of attorney
- Official form
- Declaration forms (MCA 50-9-103(2) instructions to physician; 50-9-103(3) appointing a designee)
- How to sign
- Signed in front of two witnesses (no notary)
- Who decides without a directive
- Yes
The document and its form
- Document
- Declaration (living will) under the Montana Rights of the Terminally Ill Act; durable health care power of attorney
- Official form
- Declaration forms (MCA 50-9-103(2) instructions to physician; 50-9-103(3) appointing a designee)Published by Montana Legislature (forms printed in the statute); Montana DPHHS also publishes Declaration of Living Will formsVersion: Statutory text last amended 2009
You do not have to use it.
- Living will
Declaration relating to use of life-sustaining treatment
The living will is a separate document.
An adult of sound mind can sign a declaration directing that life-sustaining treatment be withheld or withdrawn if they are in a terminal condition and cannot decide, and can name a designee to make those decisions. A health care power of attorney or court appointment that expressly authorizes life-sustaining treatment decisions also counts as a declaration naming someone to act for you.
Law: MCA 50-9-103; MCA 50-9-103, 50-9-105
Signing rules
- How to sign
A living will declaration must be signed by you (or someone at your direction) and witnessed by two individuals; a notary is not required. Montana's health care power of attorney statute requires only that you name your agent in writing; it sets no witness or notary requirement. A health care power of attorney keeps working if you become incapacitated only if it contains words showing that intent, such as 'This health care power of attorney is not affected by subsequent disability or incapacity of the principal or lapse of time'.
Law: MCA 50-9-103; MCA 72-5-501
- Who signs
The declaration must be signed by you or by another person at your direction.
- Notary
- Not required
- Witnesses
- 2
Law: MCA 50-9-103, 72-5-501
Who can be your agent and what the agent can do
- When the agent starts
A declaration becomes operative when it is given to your attending physician or APRN and you are determined to be in a terminal condition and no longer able to make decisions about life-sustaining treatment. A durable health care power of attorney can say it is not affected by later incapacity, or that it becomes effective on your incapacity.
Law: MCA 50-9-105; MCA 72-5-501
Revoking and conflicting documents
- Revoking your agent
Montana's health care power of attorney statute does not set a method for revoking it. A person who acts in good faith without actual knowledge of a revocation is protected, and an affidavit from the agent can prove that. If a guardian is appointed for you, the guardian has the same power to revoke or amend the health care power of attorney that you would have.
Law: MCA 72-5-501(2), 72-5-502
- Revoking your instructions
You can revoke a declaration at any time and in any manner, whatever your mental or physical condition. It is effective when communicated to your attending physician, APRN or other provider by you or a witness to the revocation.
Law: MCA 50-9-104
- Telling others
The provider must make the revocation part of your medical record; a provider or EMS worker who witnesses a revocation must tell the attending physician or APRN.
Law: MCA 50-9-104
Law: MCA 50-9-104, 72-5-501, 72-5-502
If you have no directive
- Who decides without a directive
Montana's statute is narrow: if you are in a terminal condition, cannot decide and have no declaration, these relatives in this order may give written consent, witnessed by two people, to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment. A full guardian may also consent. An equal split in a class does not pass the decision to the next class, and a consent that conflicts with your expressed wishes is not valid. It cannot be used to withhold treatment from a pregnant patient if the fetus could probably develop to live birth.
- Spouse
- An adult child (if more than one, a majority of those reasonably available)
- Parents
- An adult sibling (if more than one, a majority of those reasonably available)
- The nearest other adult relative by blood or adoption who is reasonably available
Law: MCA 50-9-106
Other states, registry and medical orders
- Signed in another state
A declaration signed in another state in a manner substantially similar to Montana's rules and valid under that state's law is effective in Montana.
Law: MCA 50-9-111
- Registry
Health Care Declaration Registry (Montana Attorney General)
Law: MCA 50-9-501 to 50-9-505
Free notice: revoke or change a health care directive
Free help in Montana
- MontanaLawHelp.org (Montana Legal Services Association)
- Montana DPHHS Aging Services - Legal Services
- Montana Judicial Branch: Guardianship & Conservatorship forms
- Montana Judicial Branch: End of life / probate forms
Report abuse or exploitation
Questions about powers of attorney in Montana
How do I sign a health care directive in Montana?
A living will declaration must be signed by you (or someone at your direction) and witnessed by two individuals; a notary is not required. Montana's health care power of attorney statute requires only that you name your agent in writing; it sets no witness or notary requirement.
Who decides my health care if I have no directive in Montana?
Montana's statute is narrow: if you are in a terminal condition, cannot decide and have no declaration, these relatives in this order may give written consent, witnessed by two people, to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment.