Ky. Rev. Stat. » Chapter 311
Kentucky Revised Statutes

Ky. Rev. Stat. § 311.631 (2026)

Responsible parties authorized to make health care decisions

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section KY-LRCapps.legislature.ky.gov JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

(1) If an adult patient whose physician has determined that he or she does not have decisional capacity has not executed an advance directive, or to the extent the advance directive does not address a decision that must be made, any one (1) of the following responsible parties, in the following order of priority if no individual in a prior class is reasonably available, willing, and competent to act, shall be authorized to make health care decisions on behalf of the patient: (a) The judicially appointed guardian of the patient, if the guardian has been appointed and if medical decisions are within the scope of the guardianship; (b) The attorney-in-fact named in a durable power of attorney, if the durable power of attorney specifically includes authority for health care decisions; (c) The spouse of the patient; (d) An adult child of the patient, or if the patient has more than one (1) child, the majority of the adult children who are reasonably available for consultation; (e) The parents of the patient; (f) The nearest living relative of the patient, or if more than one (1) relative of the same relation is reasonably available for consultation, a majority of the nearest living relatives; or (g) An adult friend of the patient who: 1. Has maintained regular contact with the patient; and 2. Is familiar with the patient's activities, health, and religious and moral beliefs. (2) In any case in which a health care decision is made under this section, the decision shall be noted in writing in the patient's medical records. (3) An individual authorized to consent for another under this section shall act in good faith, in accordance with any advance directive executed by the individual who lacks decisional capacity, and in the best interest of the individual who does not have decisional capacity. (4) In any case in which a health care decision is made under this section, hospitalization for psychiatric treatment at a general hospital shall not exceed fourteen (14) consecutive days unless a court order is obtained under KRS Chapter 202A or 202B. For the purposes of this section, a general hospital is one that is not owned or operated by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. (5) An individual authorized to make a health care decision under this section may authorize the withdrawal or withholding of artificially-provided nutrition and hydration only in the circumstances as set forth in KRS 311.629(3). Effective: July 15, 2024 History: Amended 2024 Ky. Acts ch. 138, sec. 1, effective July 15, 2024. -- Amended 2004 Ky. Acts ch. 116, sec. 19, effective July 13, 2004. -- Created 1994 Ky. Acts ch. 235, sec. 6, effective July 15, 1994. Legislative Research Commission Note (7/15/2024). 2024 Ky. Acts ch. 138, sec. 7, provides that the Act, which amended this section and KRS 504.060, 504.070, 504.080, 504.100, and 504.110, may be cited as Seth's Law.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 2004–2025 · leading case: Woods Ex Rel. Simpson v. Commonwealth, 142 S.W.3d 24 (Ky. 2004).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Woods Ex Rel. Simpson v. Commonwealth, 142 S.W.3d 24 (Ky. 2004). · cites it 66× “This appeal challenges the constitutionality of KRS 311.631, a provision of the Kentucky Living Will Directive Act, insofar as it permits a judicially-appointed guardian or other designated surrogate to authorize the withholding or withdrawal of artificial life-prolonging…”
GGNSC Stanford, LLC v. Rowe, 388 S.W.3d 117 (Ky. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 2× “KRS 311.631. Clearly, parents of an incompetent person are authorized to make healthcare decisions on behalf of that person given the right circumstances.”
Robbins v. Commonwealth, 365 S.W.3d 211 (Ky. Ct. App. 2012). “KRS 311.631(1). Robbins’s counsel never challenged the Commonwealth’s assertion that Robbins was required to obtain medical treatment for his mother notwithstanding her apparent competence to make such decisions for herself.”
Lexington Alzheimer's Investors, LLC D/B/A the Lantern at Morning Pointe Alzheimer's Ctr. of Excellence v. Sandra Norris, as Adm'x of the Est. of Rayford Charles Norris (Ky. 2025). · cites it 21× “1 After review, we hold that entering into an arbitration agreement under these circumstances is not a health care decision as contemplated in KRS 311.631 and as defined in KRS 311.621 and affirm the Court of Appeals.”
Lp Owensboro II, LLC D/B/A Signature Healthcare at Hillcrest v. Kahali Green, as Adm'x of the Est. of Deborah J. Moorman (Ky. Ct. App. 2023). · cites it 4× “10 Concurrent with signing the arbitration agreement, Green signed a document titled “Appointment of Health Care Surrogate Pursuant to KRS 311.631.”11 Based upon this document, Signature argues, Green had authority to bind Moorman to the arbitration agreement as her health care…”
Lexington Alzheimer's Investors, LLC D/B/A the Lantern at Morning Pointe Alzheimer's Ctr. of Excellence v. Sandra Norris, as Administratix of the Est. of Rayford Charles Norris (Ky. Ct. App. 2023). · cites it 4× “Appellants argue that KRS 311.631(1)(c) and cases like those cited above indicate that the arbitration agreement in this case is valid.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 311.631(1) — 4 cases
Woods Ex Rel. Simpson v. Commonwealth, 142 S.W.3d 24 (Ky. 2004). “This appeal challenges the constitutionality of KRS 311.631, a provision of the Kentucky Living Will Directive Act, insofar as it permits a judicially-appointed guardian or other designated surrogate to authorize the withholding or withdrawal of artificial life-prolonging…”
GGNSC Stanford, LLC v. Rowe, 388 S.W.3d 117 (Ky. Ct. App. 2012). “KRS 311.631. Clearly, parents of an incompetent person are authorized to make healthcare decisions on behalf of that person given the right circumstances.”
Robbins v. Commonwealth, 365 S.W.3d 211 (Ky. Ct. App. 2012). “KRS 311.631(1). Robbins’s counsel never challenged the Commonwealth’s assertion that Robbins was required to obtain medical treatment for his mother notwithstanding her apparent competence to make such decisions for herself.”
Lexington Alzheimer's Investors, LLC D/B/A the Lantern at Morning Pointe Alzheimer's Ctr. of Excellence v. Sandra Norris, as Adm'x of the Est. of Rayford Charles Norris (Ky. 2025). “1 After review, we hold that entering into an arbitration agreement under these circumstances is not a health care decision as contemplated in KRS 311.631 and as defined in KRS 311.621 and affirm the Court of Appeals.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 311.631(1)(a) — 1 case
Lexington Alzheimer's Investors, LLC D/B/A the Lantern at Morning Pointe Alzheimer's Ctr. of Excellence v. Sandra Norris, as Adm'x of the Est. of Rayford Charles Norris (Ky. 2025). “1 After review, we hold that entering into an arbitration agreement under these circumstances is not a health care decision as contemplated in KRS 311.631 and as defined in KRS 311.621 and affirm the Court of Appeals.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 311.631(1)(c) — 2 cases
Lexington Alzheimer's Investors, LLC D/B/A the Lantern at Morning Pointe Alzheimer's Ctr. of Excellence v. Sandra Norris, as Adm'x of the Est. of Rayford Charles Norris (Ky. 2025). “1 After review, we hold that entering into an arbitration agreement under these circumstances is not a health care decision as contemplated in KRS 311.631 and as defined in KRS 311.621 and affirm the Court of Appeals.”
Lexington Alzheimer's Investors, LLC D/B/A the Lantern at Morning Pointe Alzheimer's Ctr. of Excellence v. Sandra Norris, as Administratix of the Est. of Rayford Charles Norris (Ky. Ct. App. 2023). “Appellants argue that KRS 311.631(1)(c) and cases like those cited above indicate that the arbitration agreement in this case is valid.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 311.631(2) — 1 case
Lexington Alzheimer's Investors, LLC D/B/A the Lantern at Morning Pointe Alzheimer's Ctr. of Excellence v. Sandra Norris, as Adm'x of the Est. of Rayford Charles Norris (Ky. 2025). “1 After review, we hold that entering into an arbitration agreement under these circumstances is not a health care decision as contemplated in KRS 311.631 and as defined in KRS 311.621 and affirm the Court of Appeals.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 311.631(3) — 1 case
Woods Ex Rel. Simpson v. Commonwealth, 142 S.W.3d 24 (Ky. 2004). “This appeal challenges the constitutionality of KRS 311.631, a provision of the Kentucky Living Will Directive Act, insofar as it permits a judicially-appointed guardian or other designated surrogate to authorize the withholding or withdrawal of artificial life-prolonging…”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 311.631(4) — 1 case
Woods Ex Rel. Simpson v. Commonwealth, 142 S.W.3d 24 (Ky. 2004). “This appeal challenges the constitutionality of KRS 311.631, a provision of the Kentucky Living Will Directive Act, insofar as it permits a judicially-appointed guardian or other designated surrogate to authorize the withholding or withdrawal of artificial life-prolonging…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.