Updated August 3, 2026. Quick answer: Delaware calls this instrument advance health-care directive, health-care instruction, power of attorney for health care, advance mental health-care directive. To execute it you need 1 witness — and the state requires Witnesses only — no notary path stated. Getting that conjunction wrong is the most common way a directive fails when it is needed.
The execution box
| What the state calls it | advance health-care directive, health-care instruction, power of attorney for health care, advance mental health-care directive |
|---|---|
| Witnesses required | 1 |
| Witnesses or notary? | Witnesses only — no notary path stated |
| Who may NOT witness | A witness to a power of attorney for health care may not be the agent, or the agent’s spouse, domestic partner, or cohabitant. A witness may not be an owner, operator, or employee of a nursing home or other long-term care facility where the principal resides, unless the witness is a family member of the principal. |
| If you are in a care facility | A witness who is an owner, operator, or employee of the nursing home/long-term care facility in which the principal resides is disqualified from witnessing unless that person is also a family member of the principal (16 Del. C. § 2508(d)). |
| Authority | 16 Del. C. § 2508(d); optional form at § 2511 |
What the statute says
signed by the individual creating the power, and signed by an adult witness
— 16 Del. C. § 2508(d); optional form at § 2511
The form
The statute refers to a form, but we could not retrieve an official copy to link. Ask your state health department or check the statute itself — many states publish one free. We are not linking a commercial seller in its place.
Why the witness rules matter more than the wording
People spend their effort on what the directive says and almost none on how it is signed. A directive that expresses your wishes perfectly but was witnessed by someone the statute disqualifies may not be honoured. The disqualification lists exist because the people most likely to be in the room — family, the treating doctor, facility staff — are the people with an interest in the outcome.
Two practical consequences. Ask who is signing before the appointment, not during it. And if you are already in a hospital or care facility, check the facility rule row above — several states add a requirement that applies only to patients and residents, and it is the one nobody mentions.
This is the medical instrument, not the financial one
A financial power of attorney is a different document with different execution rules. Having one does not give anyone authority over your medical care, and having this one gives nobody authority over your money. Most people need both, and they are executed separately.
What could not be verified
Official delcode.delaware.gov source used, but content was read from the chapter index/summary rather than the individual §2508 and §2511 pages (direct URL guesses for those individual sections 404’d). A separate, non-agent ‘health-care instruction’ under §2507 appears to carry no independent execution/witness formality of its own in the material reviewed — confirm this before relying on it. §2511’s optional form text was not directly viewed, only referenced.
Related: all states compared · living will versus healthcare proxy · what it costs.
General information drawn from state statutes and official state materials, not legal or medical advice. Advance-directive law is STATE law and the execution requirements differ in ways that decide whether a document works: some states require witnesses AND a notary, some accept either, and the list of people who may not witness varies. A directive executed the wrong way may not be honoured when it matters. Many states publish a free official form – you should not have to buy one.