30-3421. Filing of petition; when.

359 words·~2 min read·/ne/chapter-30/30-3421

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

(1)A petition may be filed for any one or more of the following purposes:

(a)To determine whether the power of attorney for health care is in effect or has been revoked or terminated;

(b)To determine whether the acts or proposed acts of the attorney in fact are consistent with the wishes of the principal as expressed in the power of attorney for health care or otherwise established by clear and convincing evidence or, when the wishes of the principal are unknown, whether the acts or proposed acts of the attorney in fact are clearly contrary to the best interests of the principal;

(c)To declare that the power of attorney for health care is revoked upon a determination that the attorney in fact made or proposed to make a health care decision for the principal that authorized an illegal act or omission; or

(d)To declare that the power of attorney for health care is revoked upon a determination by the court of both of the following:

(i)That the attorney in fact has violated, failed to perform, or is unable to perform the duty to act in a manner consistent with the wishes of the principal or, when the desires of the principal are unknown, to act in a manner that is in the best interests of the principal; and

(ii)that at the time of the determination by the court, the principal lacks the capacity to revoke the power of attorney for health care.

(2)A petition under this section shall be filed with the county court of the county in which the principal resides or is located.

Where the wishes expressed by the principal while competent were impossible to fulfill and the attorneys in fact for health care faced medical decisions about which the principal’s wishes were not known and could not be reasonably ascertained due to the principal’s incompetence, the appropriate consideration under subdivision (1)(d) of this section was whether the attorneys in fact for health care failed to act in a manner consistent with the principal’s best interests. In re Trust Created by Nabity, 289 Neb. 164, 854 N.W.2d 551 (2014).