Legal Question in Health Care Law in Arkansas

Re: notarizing a document to make legal

Your questions raises bigger issues than simply True or Untrue (as do most things in law). With a Health Care document that you mention, the people that will be reading it initially are non-legal people such as the physician and the medical staff particularly in an emergency. At some point the document will be read by the medical facility legal counsel as to its legal format. However, it is the initial people who read the document and decide if they are willing to allow that document to grant you the power you wish. It being notarized or not may not mean that much to the hospital staff, however, they may decide that if it is not notarized they do not have to recognize it.

Therefore, by not having the document notarized you run the risk of having it refused when you need it the most. Legalities have little to do with it during "crunch time".

So, I realize I have given a "non-answer" as to specifics but in real life this is how things work. I would get it notarized, even now after the signatures have been attached, just present the witnesses to the notary and have the notary notarize the document.

There are also legal necessities that need to be done properly that would probably not be caught until the hospital legal counsel reviews the document. Therefore, on an issue of this importance, I would recommend that you seek counsel from an attorney that does this sort of work on a very regular basis.