Living Wills and Advance Directives in Arkansas

Arkansas calls a living will a "declaration" under the Rights of the Terminally Ill or Permanently Unconscious Act. Anyone 18 or older and of sound mind may sign one directing that life-sustaining treatment be withheld or withdrawn. It must be signed by the person (or by another at their direction) and witnessed by two individuals; a declaration signed on or after July 1, 2017 is also valid if it is notarized without witnesses, or if it meets the Arkansas Healthcare Decisions Act. The statute provides optional sample declaration forms (for terminal condition and permanent unconsciousness), which can also name a health care proxy.

Under the Arkansas Healthcare Decisions Act, an adult (or married or emancipated minor) can sign a written durable power of attorney for health care naming an agent. The advance directive must be either notarized or witnessed by two competent adults; the agent cannot be a witness, and at least one witness must be unrelated and not entitled to any part of the estate. Unless the document says otherwise, the agent's authority begins when a physician determines the principal lacks capacity. A living will declaration may also appoint a "health care proxy" to decide on life-sustaining treatment.