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Wisconsin Advance Directive
Support GuideWisconsin11 min read

Wisconsin Advance Directive

How Wisconsin advance directives work: a health care power of attorney under ch. 155, a living will under ch. 154, and the witness signing rules.

By Settled Editorial

Wisconsin uses two separate advance directives, and most people want both. The first is a power of attorney for health care, which names an agent to make medical decisions for you if you cannot decide for yourself. The second is a declaration to health care professionals (Wisconsin living will), Wisconsin's name for a living will, which states your wishes about life-sustaining care if you reach a terminal condition or a persistent vegetative state. The power of attorney for health care sits under Wis. Stat. ch. 155; the declaration to health care professionals sits under Wis. Stat. ch. 154. Each is signed in front of two qualified witnesses, and neither requires a notary. (See Wis. Stat. 155.10 and Wis. Stat. 154.03.)

Use this page as a planning map, not as legal advice or a finished form. Wisconsin applies these statutes to the exact facts of your health and your wishes, and the witness rules are strict. When you want a directive that says what you mean, confirm it with a licensed Wisconsin attorney before you sign.

This guide pairs with the Wisconsin power of attorney guide, which covers the separate document for your money and property, and with the Wisconsin probate guide for what happens after death. For the broader set of Wisconsin estate pages, start at the Wisconsin county probate directory.

Two Documents, Two Jobs

Wisconsin splits advance care planning into two instruments, and they do different things. Knowing which is which keeps you from signing only half of what you need.

  • Power of attorney for health care (ch. 155). This names a health care agent, a person you trust to make medical decisions for you once a doctor finds you cannot make them yourself. The agent can consent to or refuse treatment and arrange care within the document's limits. (Source: Wis. Stat. 155.01 and Wis. Stat. 155.05.)
  • Declaration to health care professionals (ch. 154). This is the living will. It does not name a decision-maker. Instead, it states in advance that you do or do not want life-sustaining procedures or feeding tubes if you are in a terminal condition or a persistent vegetative state and can no longer communicate. (Source: Wis. Stat. 154.03.)

Most thorough plans use both. The power of attorney for health care covers the broad run of medical decisions through a named agent. The declaration to health care professionals speaks for you on end-of-life care if you cannot. A separate financial power of attorney, covered in the Wisconsin power of attorney guide, handles money and property and does not touch health care.

Who Can Sign and Witness

Both documents share the same starting rule on capacity. Any person who is of sound mind and at least 18 years old may sign. (Source: Wis. Stat. 155.05 and Wis. Stat. 154.03.)

The witness rules are where Wisconsin is strict, and they overlap closely but are not identical for the two documents. For both, you must sign in the presence of two witnesses, and each witness must be at least 18. A person may not witness if any of the following is true. (Source: Wis. Stat. 155.10 and Wis. Stat. 154.03.)

Disqualified witnessApplies toWhy
Related to you by blood, marriage, or adoptionBoth documentsToo close to be neutral
Your domestic partner under ch. 770Power of attorney for health care onlyTreated like a spouse for the health care POA (155.10(2)(a)); the declaration's list (154.03(1)(a)) names only blood, marriage, or adoption
Has knowledge that they are entitled to or have a claim on any part of your estateBoth documentsHas a financial stake
Directly financially responsible for your health careBoth documentsHas a conflict of interest
A health care provider serving you, or that provider's employeeBoth documentsConflict (chaplains and social workers are excepted)
Your named health care agentPower of attorney for health careCannot witness their own appointment

The one difference worth noting: your domestic partner is barred from witnessing your power of attorney for health care under Wis. Stat. 155.10(2)(a), but the declaration's disqualification list in Wis. Stat. 154.03(1)(a) reaches only people related to you by blood, marriage, or adoption. To keep both documents clean, the safe move is to avoid using a domestic partner as a witness on either one.

A practical note: Wisconsin does not require either document to be notarized. A notary is optional. What the statute requires is your signature plus two witnesses who are not on the disqualified list. Picking two clearly neutral witnesses (for example, two coworkers or neighbors who inherit nothing and owe nothing toward your care) is the clean, safe choice.

When the Power of Attorney for Health Care Takes Effect

Signing a Wisconsin power of attorney for health care does not hand your agent control right away. The document takes effect only after a finding of incapacity. While you can still make and communicate your own decisions, you stay in charge. (Source: Wis. Stat. 155.05.)

The statute sets out how that finding works:

  • The finding of incapacity must be made by two physicians, or by one physician and one licensed advanced practice clinician, who personally examine you and sign a statement.
  • Incapacity means you cannot receive and evaluate information effectively or communicate decisions to the point that you cannot manage your own health care decisions. (Source: Wis. Stat. 155.01.)
  • Mere old age, eccentricity, or physical disability is not enough, by itself, to support a finding of incapacity.

Once that finding is in place, your agent has priority over anyone other than you to make covered health care decisions. (Source: Wis. Stat. 155.20.)

What the Health Care Agent Can and Cannot Do

A Wisconsin health care agent can consent to or refuse most medical treatment for you within the document's terms. But Wisconsin holds back several powers that an agent gets only if the document specifically authorizes them. This is the part people miss, so read it closely. (Source: Wis. Stat. 155.20.)

  • Withholding or withdrawing a feeding tube. An agent may withhold or withdraw nutrition or hydration delivered through a feeding tube only if the power of attorney for health care instrument expressly says so. Nutrition or hydration taken by other means cannot be withheld unless it is medically contraindicated.
  • Long-term nursing home or residential placement. An agent can admit you to a nursing home or a community-based residential facility for short, defined periods, such as recuperative care for up to three months after a hospital stay or temporary respite for up to 30 days. Longer or permanent placement requires that the document specifically authorize it.
  • During pregnancy. If you are pregnant, the agent may make only those decisions the document authorizes.
  • Certain mental health admissions and treatments. An agent cannot consent to inpatient mental health admission or to procedures like psychosurgery or electroconvulsive treatment through the health care power of attorney alone.

The takeaway: if you want your agent to be able to refuse a feeding tube or arrange long-term care, say so in the document. A general grant of authority does not reach those choices.

The Declaration to Health Care Professionals (Living Will)

Wisconsin's living will is the declaration to health care professionals. It does not name an agent. It records your own instruction about life-sustaining care so doctors and family know your wishes if you cannot speak. (Source: Wis. Stat. 154.03.)

A few rules define how it works:

  • It operates in narrow conditions. The declaration takes effect only when the attending health care professional finds you have a terminal condition or are in a persistent vegetative state and you can no longer communicate your decisions. Outside those conditions, it does not control your day-to-day care.
  • Feeding tubes and other nutrition. The declaration can direct that feeding tubes be withheld or withdrawn under those conditions. It cannot direct withholding nutrition or hydration received by other means unless that is medically contraindicated.
  • No effect during pregnancy. If the attending health care professional diagnoses you as pregnant, the declaration has no effect during the pregnancy. (Source: Wis. Stat. 154.07.)
  • No one can require it. No provider or insurer may make signing a declaration a condition of insuring you or giving you care. (Source: Wis. Stat. 154.11.)

Because the declaration only covers terminal conditions and persistent vegetative state, it works best paired with a power of attorney for health care. The agent covers the wide range of decisions in between, and the declaration speaks for you at the end.

Changing or Revoking Your Directives

Neither Wisconsin directive expires. Each stays in force until you revoke it or replace it, and each has its own revocation rules.

For the power of attorney for health care, you can revoke by any of these methods. (Source: Wis. Stat. 155.40.)

  • Cancel, deface, burn, tear, or otherwise destroy the document, or have someone do it at your direction.
  • Sign and date a written statement that says you revoke it.
  • Say out loud that you revoke it, in the presence of two witnesses.
  • Sign a new power of attorney for health care.

For the declaration to health care professionals, the methods are similar: destroying it, a signed and dated written revocation, a verbal revocation that takes effect once your attending health care professional is told, or signing a later declaration. (Source: Wis. Stat. 154.05.)

One automatic rule matters for spouses. If your health care agent is your spouse or domestic partner and you later divorce, get an annulment, or end the domestic partnership, your power of attorney for health care is revoked by that event. If that happens, sign a new document naming someone else so you are not left without an agent. (Source: Wis. Stat. 155.40.)

A Simple Planning Sequence

Use this order as a checklist, then confirm the details with a Wisconsin attorney or your provider:

  1. Decide who your health care agent will be, and pick a successor in case the first cannot serve.
  2. Sign a power of attorney for health care in front of two qualified witnesses, and spell out any special powers you want, such as authority over a feeding tube or long-term placement.
  3. Sign a declaration to health care professionals if you want a separate, standing instruction about end-of-life care, again in front of two qualified witnesses.
  4. Give signed copies to your agent and your doctor, and keep your own originals where they can be found.
  5. Review both documents after any major life change, especially marriage or divorce, and replace them if your wishes change.

Pair these directives with the rest of your plan. The Wisconsin power of attorney guide covers who manages your money and property if you cannot act, the Wisconsin will requirements guide covers signing a valid will, and the Wisconsin probate guide covers how an estate moves through the courts after death. For the full set of Wisconsin estate and probate pages, start at the Wisconsin county probate directory.

This guide is general information about Wisconsin advance directives. It is not legal advice. Confirm anything that affects your situation with your attending physician or a licensed Wisconsin attorney before you sign or rely on a directive.

Sources

Information current as of June 13, 2026

This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in Wisconsin can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

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