What are the correct titles for the person who signs an advance directive and the person(s) he or she names in the documents?
The person signing an advance directive is usually referred to as the principal or the patient. The person to whom he or she gives a health care power of attorney is called the health care agent or the attorney-in-fact. Some people incorrectly refer to the health care agent as the “health care power of attorney,” but that is the name of the document itself, not the person given authority.
