Can minor children create legally binding Advance Directives?

In the context of legal frameworks surrounding advance directives, the correct choice highlights that minors generally do not possess the legal capacity to create legally binding advance directives. Advance directives are formal documents, such as living wills or powers of attorney, that outline an individual’s preferences for medical treatment and decision-making in advance of incapacitation.

The law typically requires individuals to have reached the age of majority—a threshold that varies by jurisdiction, usually set at 18 years—to execute binding legal documents such as these. Since minors are often considered incapable of fully understanding the implications of such decisions, they are not allowed to create advance directives independently.

While minors may express their wishes regarding medical treatment or end-of-life care, these expressions do not hold legal weight in the same way that an advance directive drafted by an adult does. In many cases, a parent or legal guardian would need to make those decisions on behalf of a minor. This background underscores the importance of having a legally recognized framework to ensure that individual rights and choices are respected during healthcare decisions.