N.J. Advance Directives for Mental Health Care — beware of who are the witnesses

N.J. Advance Directives for Mental Health Care Act (N.J.S.A. 26:2H-102, et seq.) provides that “The advance directive shall be signed and dated by, or at the direction of, the declarant in the presence of at least one subscribing adult witness, who shall attest that the declarant is of sound mind and free of duress and undue influence.” N.J.S.A. 26:2H-105

However:

The following persons shall not act as a witness to the execution of an advance directive for mental health care:
(1)a designated mental health care representative; and
(2)the responsible mental health care professional responsible for, or directly involved with, the patient’s care at the time that the advance directive is executed.

N.J.S.A. 26:2H-105

Furthermore:
A person shall not act as a sole witness to the execution of an advance directive for mental health care if that person is:

(1)related to the declarant by blood, marriage or adoption, or is the declarant’s domestic partner or otherwise shares the same home with the declarant;
(2)entitled to any part of the declarant’s estate by will or by operation of law at the time that the advance directive is executed; or
(3)an operator, administrator or employee of a rooming or boarding house or a residential health care facility in which the declarant resides.

N.J.S.A. 26:2H-105

See my prior blog post: N.J. Advance Directives for Mental Health Care Act

Special thank you to Jonathan B. Bressman, Esq. who brought this issue to my attention.

NOTE: This Blog/Blawg, NJ Family Issues, is managed by Paul G. Kostro, Esq., an attorney/lawyer/mediator in Linden, Union County, New Jersey.

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