Health Care Proxies and Advance Directives for Brooklyn Families

A durable power of attorney covers your finances if you can’t act — but it says nothing about your medical care. For that, New York offers a separate set of tools. Brooklyn families are often surprised to learn these documents do different jobs, and the strongest plan uses more than one. Here is how the main options compare.

Option 1: The Health Care Proxy

Under New York Public Health Law (PHL) Article 29-C, a health care proxy lets you appoint a trusted person — your “agent” — to make medical decisions when you cannot speak for yourself. This is the foundation document for most Brooklynites. New York deliberately favors the proxy approach because no written form can anticipate every situation; a real person who knows your values can adapt to whatever a Brooklyn hospital throws at them. The form simply requires your signature and two adult witnesses.

Option 2: The Living Will

A living will is a written statement of your wishes — for example, whether you want artificial nutrition or to be kept on a ventilator in a permanent unconscious state. New York does not have a living will statute, but its courts recognize these documents as “clear and convincing” evidence of your wishes. The limitation is obvious: a living will can’t answer questions it never anticipated. That is why it works best paired with, not instead of, a health care proxy.

Option 3: The MOLST Form

The Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) form is different in kind. It is an actual medical order, signed by a physician, used for people with serious advanced illness. Where a proxy names a decision-maker and a living will states values, MOLST translates those into concrete, portable orders that EMS and hospital staff across Brooklyn will follow immediately. It is a clinical tool, not a substitute for naming an agent.

Why You Want More Than One

Think of it as layers. The health care proxy designates the captain. The living will gives that captain your map. The MOLST, when illness is advanced, converts the plan into orders the medical team must honor. Relying on only one leaves gaps — a proxy with no guidance, or a living will with no one empowered to enforce it.

Coordinating With the Rest of Your Plan

Your health care proxy should name a different decision than your financial power of attorney, but the two should work together and ideally name people who can cooperate. Keep copies accessible — give one to your agent, one to your primary doctor, and tell family in Brooklyn where the originals are. A perfect document in a locked drawer helps no one in an emergency room.

Consult a New York Attorney

Advance directives carry life-and-death weight and must satisfy New York’s specific requirements. A New York estate planning attorney can help your Brooklyn family choose the right combination of proxy, living will, and — when appropriate — a MOLST conversation with your physician.