ADVANCE DIRECTIVE

Advance Declarations of Will in their two usual forms the living will and the appointment of a health care proxy were expressly recognized in the Portuguese legal system with the approval of Law No. 25/2012 of 16 July 2012 which brought new challenges for the understanding of the legal system namely by enshrining the institution of voluntary representation in health care.This is a mechanism of voluntary representation which is traditionally reserved for the conclusion of legal transactions or the practice of other legal acts in place of the represented person. At a time when autonomy is increasingly valued this instrument presents itself in the first instance as a useful mechanism for responding to a specific incapacity limited to the area of health.