{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-311.631","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 311.631","heading":"Responsible parties authorized to make health care decisions.","body":"(1) If an adult patient whose physician has determined that he or she does not have\ndecisional capacity has not executed an advance directive, or to the extent the\nadvance directive does not address a decision that must be made, any one (1) of the\nfollowing responsible parties, in the following order of priority if no individual in a\nprior class is reasonably available, willing, and competent to act, shall be authorized\nto make health care decisions on behalf of the patient:\n(a) The judicially appointed guardian of the patient, if the guardian has been\nappointed and if medical decisions are within the scope of the guardianship;\n(b) The attorney -in-fact named in a durable power of att orney, if the durable\npower of attorney specifically includes authority for health care decisions;\n(c) The spouse of the patient;\n(d) An adult child of the patient, or if the patient has more than one (1) child, the\nmajority of the adult children who are reasonably available for consultation;\n(e) The parents of the patient;\n(f) The nearest living relative of the patient, or if more than one (1) relative of the\nsame relation is reasonably available for consultation, a majority of the\nnearest living relatives; or\n(g) An adult friend of the patient who:\n1. Has maintained regular contact with the patient; and\n2. Is familiar with the patient's activities, health, and religious and moral\nbeliefs.\n(2) In any case in which a health care decision is made under this section, the decision\nshall be noted in writing in the patient's medical records.\n(3) An individual authorized to consent for another under this section shall act in good\nfaith, in accordance with any advance directive executed by the individual who\nlacks decisional capacity, and in the best interest of the individual who does not\nhave decisional capacity.\n(4) In any case in which a health care decision is made under this section,\nhospitalization for psychiatric treatment at a general hospital shall not exceed\nfourteen (14) consecutive days unless a court order is obtained under KRS Chapter\n202A or 202B. For t he purposes of this section, a general hospital is one that is not\nowned or operated by the Commonwealth of Kentucky.\n(5) An individual authorized to make a health care decision under this section may\nauthorize the withdrawal or withholding of artificially -provided nutrition and\nhydration only in the circumstances as set forth in KRS 311.629(3).","path":["KRS Chapter 311"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=55099","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:58:05Z","sha256":"29fba88ceafccc7a51f3240e43fc4e2567f40b6fed6ce848db870b0b601124d9","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-311.630","next":"us-ky/krs-311.632"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}