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  • Living Will Form
  • Power of Attorney Form

Recording Your Living Will & Power of Attorney for Health Care

A living will is a binding legal document you can complete now which declares what your wishes are regarding the use of life-sustaining treatment if you should become terminally ill or permanently unconscious.

A Living Will:

  • Becomes effective only when a patient is permanently unconscious or terminally ill and unable to communicate.
  • Spells out whether or not you want life-support technology used to prolong your dying.
  • Gives doctors the authority to follow your instructions regarding the medical treatment you want under these conditions.
  • Cannot be revoked by anyone but you, and can be changed at anytime by you.
  • Will be followed by pregnant women only if certain conditions apply.
  • Specifies under what conditions you would want internal feeding and fluids to be withheld.

A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care is a legal document which authorizes another person to make health care decisions for you if you lose capacity to make informed health care decisions for yourself.

A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care:

  • Names an individual you trust to make a wide variety of health care decisions for you at anytime you cannot do so for yourself - whether or not your condition is terminal.
  • Becomes effective only when you are temporarily or permanently unable to make your own decisions regarding your treatment.
  • Requires the person you appoint to make decisions that are consistent with your wishes.
  • Will not overrule a living will in the event you have both documents.

The Stark County Recorder will record your Living Will and Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care.

  • Recording your living will and power of attorney offers you security.
  • These documents have little effect unless they are readily available to health care professionals.
  • The Stark County Recorder will provide a computerized indexing system.
  • The Stark County Recorder will image the document.
  • The documents will be retrievable and secure.
  • The documents will not be visible on the website for your security and will only be made available to the public through a public records request.

Verification Cards:

At the time of recording these documents, the Stark County Recorder's Office will provide you with a card that states that you have a Living Will and/or Power of Attorney for Health Care filed with the office. This document card can be kept in your wallet with your pertinent identification cards. The cards will list the Health Care Document number that identifies your health care recordings and allows for fast retrieval of your documents.

For more information you can contact the Recorder's Office at (330)451-7443 or stop in the office located at 110 Central Plaza South, Suite 170 Canton, OH 44702. (First floor of the Stark County Office Building located on the corner of Market Avenue and W. Tuscarawas Street)

Living Will & Power of Attorney Forms

Yes, the State of Ohio authorizes the recording of health care documents.
Fee is $34.00, which is set by state law.
No.