Advance Healthcare Directives

In Connecticut, an advance healthcare directive (also known as a living will) allows individuals to express their wishes regarding end-of-life medical care and designate a healthcare representative to make medical decisions on their behalf if they become incapacitated. Connecticut law specifically recognizes two main components: the living will portion that outlines treatment preferences, and the healthcare representative designation. The document becomes effective when a person is unable to communicate their own healthcare decisions and two physicians determine that the person is incapacitated or in a terminal condition.

Connecticut law provides significant flexibility in what can be included in an advance directive. Individuals can specify their preferences regarding life-sustaining treatment, artificial nutrition and hydration, pain management, organ donation, and other medical interventions. The document can also include personal values and religious beliefs that should guide medical decision-making. Importantly, Connecticut requires that advance directives be signed in the presence of two witnesses, who must also sign the document. The witnesses cannot be the designated healthcare representative, an employee of a healthcare facility where the person is a patient, or a current healthcare provider.

One unique aspect of Connecticut's advance directive law is that it allows individuals to designate alternate healthcare representatives and provides specific guidance on who can and cannot serve in this role. Healthcare representatives cannot be employees of healthcare facilities where the person is receiving care, unless they are related by blood, marriage, or adoption. Additionally, Connecticut law requires healthcare providers to make reasonable efforts to notify a patient's healthcare representative when the patient has been determined to be incapacitated and medical decisions need to be made. The state maintains a voluntary advance directive registry through the Department of Public Health, allowing individuals to store their documents in a secure database accessible to healthcare providers.