Alaska Statutes: AS 47.24.016. Surrogate Decision Makers For Vulnerable Adults.

Alaska Statutes. Title 47. Welfare, Social Services and Institutions Chapter 24. Protection of Vulnerable Adults Section 16. Surrogate Decision Makers For Vulnerable Adults.

previous: Section 15. Action On Reports.
next: Section 17. Delivery of Protective Services For Vulnerable Adults.

AS 47.24.016. Surrogate Decision Makers For Vulnerable Adults.

(a) If the department determines under AS 47.24.015 that a vulnerable adult is in need of protective services, but the department cannot obtain the vulnerable adult's consent to receive the services because the vulnerable adult is unable to consent or lacks decision making capacity, and has no guardian or attorney in fact to serve as the vulnerable adult's surrogate decision maker, the department may select from the following list, in the order of priority listed, an individual who is willing to be the vulnerable adult's surrogate decision maker for the purpose of deciding whether to consent to the vulnerable adult's receipt of protective services:

(1) the vulnerable adult's spouse, unless

(A) the vulnerable adult and the spouse have separate domiciles; or

(B) the vulnerable adult or the spouse have initiated divorce or dissolution proceedings;

(2) an individual who lives with the vulnerable adult in a spousal relationship or as a domestic partner and who is 18 years of age or older;

(3) a son or daughter of the vulnerable adult who is 18 years of age or older;

(4) a parent of the vulnerable adult;

(5) a brother or sister of the vulnerable adult who is 18 years of age or older; or

(6) a close friend or relative of the vulnerable adult who is 18 years of age or older.
(b) An individual from the list in (a) of this section may not be selected as a surrogate decision maker if

(1) the department determines that individual does not possess decision making capacity; or

(2) there are allegations that individual is a perpetrator of the abandonment, exploitation, abuse, or neglect of the vulnerable adult.
(c) If the department intends to select a surrogate decision maker from a priority level in the list in (a) of this section and there is more than one individual at that priority level who is willing to be the surrogate decision maker, those individuals

(1) may select from amongst themselves, by majority vote, an individual to serve as the surrogate decision maker; or

(2) as a group may serve as the surrogate decision maker and reach decisions by consensus.
(d) The department may not continue to provide protective services to a vulnerable adult based on the consent of a surrogate decision maker serving under this section if the department determines that the vulnerable adult has become able to consent or has regained decision making capacity since the surrogate's consent was given. The department may continue protective services to a vulnerable adult who has become able to consent or has regained decision making capacity only if the vulnerable adult consents.

This version of the Alaska Statutes is current through December, 2007. The Alaska Statutes were automatically converted to HTML from a plain text format. Every effort has been made to ensure their accuracy, but this can not be guaranteed. If it is critical that the precise terms of the Alaska Statutes be known, it is recommended that more formal sources be consulted. For statutes adopted after the effective date of these statutes, see, Alaska State Legislature If any errors are found, please e-mail Touch N' Go systems at E-mail. We hope you find this information useful.