Powers of Attorney and Health Care Directives
RSA 564-E:104 — a power of attorney is durable unless it says otherwise
A power of attorney made under the chapter is durable, lasting through the principal's incapacity, unless it expressly says it ends then.
Who handles this in New Hampshire: legal aid programs, lawyer referral and the state offices, listed in the New Hampshire directory.
A general power of attorney is signed by the principal, other than by electronic signature, or by another at their direction in their conscious presence, and acknowledged before a notary, as the section sets out.
An advance directive for health care is signed in the presence of two or more witnesses who are not the agent or surrogate, the spouse, an heir at law, or a person who would take part of the estate, or in the other way the section provides.
When a patient lacks capacity and has no available agent, a surrogate decision maker may act, chosen in the order the chapter sets.
Sources for this section (4)
- RSA 564-E:104 — Power of Attorney is Durable
- RSA 564-E:105 — Execution of Power of Attorney
- RSA 137-J:14 — Execution and Witnesses
- RSA 137-J:35 — Surrogate Decision-making
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New Hampshire attorney.