Colorado Advance Directives: Medical POA & Living Wills

A medical durable power of attorney lets an agent make health-care decisions if you can't (C.R.S. § 15-14-506). A living will — formally a Declaration as to Medical Treatment — lets an adult direct that life-sustaining procedures be withheld or withdrawn in a terminal condition or persistent vegetative state (C.R.S. § 15-18-104). Colorado also recognizes CPR directives and MOST forms.

This is general information, not legal advice. Talk to a Colorado attorney about how these rules apply to your situation.

Advance directives are the documents that speak for you about health care when you can’t speak for yourself. Colorado offers several that work together.

Medical durable power of attorney

A medical durable power of attorney lets you name an agent to make health-care decisions for you if you can’t make them yourself (C.R.S. § 15-14-506). This covers a broad range of medical choices — not just end-of-life situations — making it one of the most important documents in a Colorado plan.

Living will (Declaration as to Medical Treatment)

A living will in Colorado is formally a Declaration as to Medical Treatment under the Colorado Medical Treatment Decision Act. It lets an adult direct that life-sustaining procedures be withheld or withdrawn if they are in a terminal condition or a persistent vegetative state (C.R.S. § 15-18-104). It speaks directly to your physicians about your end-of-life wishes.

CPR directives and MOST forms

Colorado also recognizes:

CPR directives — addressing whether resuscitation is attempted.
MOST (Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment) forms — turning your treatment wishes into portable medical orders that travel with you across care settings.

Advance directives pair naturally with your financial power of attorney and the rest of your estate plan. To get matched with a local Colorado estate-planning attorney, connect with a lawyer.

Frequently asked questions

What is a medical durable power of attorney in Colorado?

A document that names an agent to make health-care decisions for you if you can't make them yourself (C.R.S. § 15-14-506). It covers a broad range of medical choices, not just end-of-life care.

What is a living will in Colorado?

Formally a Declaration as to Medical Treatment under the Colorado Medical Treatment Decision Act, it lets an adult direct that life-sustaining procedures be withheld or withdrawn in a terminal condition or persistent vegetative state (C.R.S. § 15-18-104).

What are CPR directives and MOST forms?

They are additional Colorado tools. A CPR directive addresses whether resuscitation is attempted, and a MOST (Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment) form turns your treatment wishes into portable medical orders. Colorado recognizes both.

Related guides

Avoiding Probate in Colorado Many Colorado assets pass outside probate: beneficiary designations, payable-on-death/transfer-on-death accounts, joint tenancy with right of survivorship, and a funded revocable trust. Colorado also allows a beneficiary deed (a transfer-on-death deed) that conveys real property to a named beneficiary at the owner's death and is revocable during life (C.R.S. § 15-15-401).

Colorado Intestate Succession: Dying Without a Will If you die without a will, Colorado's Uniform Probate Code rules decide who inherits (C.R.S. § 15-11-102). A surviving spouse takes the entire estate in some situations; in others the spouse takes a base amount plus a share, with the rest passing to descendants, then parents, then more remote kin (§ 15-11-103).

Colorado Living Trusts: How Revocable Trusts Work Trusts in Colorado are governed by the Colorado Uniform Trust Code (Title 15, Article 5; C.R.S. § 15-5-101). A funded revocable living trust lets your assets pass outside probate while you keep control during life — but only assets actually retitled into the trust avoid probate.

Colorado Power of Attorney: Durable by Default Under the Colorado Uniform Power of Attorney Act, a financial power of attorney created on or after January 1, 2010 is durable by default — it survives the principal's incapacity unless the document expressly says it terminates on incapacity (C.R.S. § 15-14-704).

Colorado Wills: Requirements & How They Work Colorado follows the Uniform Probate Code. A valid will must be in writing and signed by the testator, and then either signed by at least two witnesses or acknowledged before a notary (C.R.S. § 15-11-502(1)). Colorado also recognizes holographic wills — a will is valid without witnesses if the signature and material portions are in the testator's own handwriting (§ 15-11-502(2)).