Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2986 (2026)

Procedure in absence of an advance directive; procedure for advance directive without agent; no presumption; persons who may authorize health care for patients incapable of informed decisions

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section VA-LISlaw.lis.virginia.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

A. Whenever a patient is determined to be incapable of making an informed decision and (i) has not made an advance directive in accordance with this article or (ii) has made an advance directive in accordance with this article that does not indicate his wishes with respect to the health care at issue and does not appoint an agent, the attending physician may, upon compliance with the provisions of this section, provide, continue, withhold or withdraw health care upon the authorization of any of the following persons, in the specified order of priority, if the physician is not aware of any available, willing and capable person in a higher class:

1. A guardian for the patient. This subdivision shall not be construed to require such appointment in order that a health care decision can be made under this section; or

2. The patient's spouse except where a divorce action has been filed and the divorce is not final; or

3. An adult child of the patient; or

4. A parent of the patient; or

5. An adult brother or sister of the patient; or

6. Any other relative of the patient in the descending order of blood relationship; or

7. Except in cases in which the proposed treatment recommendation involves the withholding or withdrawing of a life-prolonging procedure, any adult, except any director, employee, or agent of a health care provider currently involved in the care of the patient, who (i) has exhibited special care and concern for the patient and (ii) is familiar with the patient's religious beliefs and basic values and any preferences previously expressed by the patient regarding health care, to the extent that they are known. A quorum of a patient care consulting committee as defined in § 54.1-2982 of the facility where the patient is receiving health care or, if such patient care consulting committee does not exist or if a quorum of such patient care consulting committee is not reasonably available, two physicians who (a) are not currently involved in the care of the patient, (b) are not employed by the facility where the patient is receiving health care, and (c) do not practice medicine in the same professional business entity as the attending physician shall determine whether a person meets these criteria and shall document the information relied upon in making such determination.

If two or more of the persons listed in the same class in subdivisions A 3 through A 7 with equal decision-making priority inform the attending physician that they disagree as to a particular health care decision, the attending physician may rely on the authorization of a majority of the reasonably available members of that class.

B. Regardless of the absence of an advance directive, if the patient has expressed his intent to be an organ donor in any written document, no person noted in this section shall revoke, or in any way hinder, such organ donation.

1983, c. 532, § 54-325.8:6; 1988, c. 765; 1992, cc. 748, 772; 1999, c. 814; 2000, c. 810; 2005, c. 716; 2009, cc. 211, 268; 2010, c. 792.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 6 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1990–2025 · leading case: Gilmore v. Finn, 527 S.E.2d 426 (Va. 2000).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Gilmore v. Finn, 527 S.E.2d 426 (Va. 2000). · cites it 8× “” 2 *455 Addressing the provisions of the Act found in Code § 54.1-2986, the trial court found that Michele Finn had satisfied the requirement that she make “a good faith effort to ascertain the risks and benefits of and alternatives to the treatment and the religious beliefs…”

Cruzan Ex Rel. Cruzan v. Dir., Missouri Dep't of Health, 497 U.S. 261 (1990). · cites it 2× “1989); Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2986 (2) (1988); 1987 Wash.”

Bostic v. Rainey, 970 F. Supp. 2d 456 (E.D. Va. 2014). “§ 54.1-2986 (2014). Since E. S.-T.’s birth, Ms.”

Convisser (W.D. Va. 2025). · cites it 13× “) Va. Code § 54.1-2986 outlines the procedure for authorizing health care for a patient who is deemed incapable of making an informed decision and has not made an advance directive that addresses the health care decision at issue.”

Jong Chung v. Med. Facilities of Am., Inc., 79 Va. Cir. 180 (Fairfax Cir. Ct. 2009). · cites it 3× “Specifically, for the Defendants to prevail, the Court would have to find that, when a person is incapacitated, a responsible party as defined in Va. Code § 54.1-2986 is not only empowered to order or decline medical treatment on the incapacitated person’s behalf, but also that…”

Gibson v. Med. Facilities of Am., Inc., 80 Va. Cir. 56 (Norfolk Cir. Ct. 2010). · cites it 2× “The Defendants also point to Virginia Code § 54.1-2986 and the Virginia Administrative Code as permitting a sister to authorize care.”

— Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2986(E) — 1 case

Gilmore v. Finn, 527 S.E.2d 426 (Va. 2000). “” 2 *455 Addressing the provisions of the Act found in Code § 54.1-2986, the trial court found that Michele Finn had satisfied the requirement that she make “a good faith effort to ascertain the risks and benefits of and alternatives to the treatment and the religious beliefs…”

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.