What an Agent Can and Cannot Do
When someone becomes incapacitated, a health care agent steps in to make decisions. Family dynamics can get complicated during this time.
Sometimes an agent limits visitors, restricts phone calls, or blocks family members from seeing the principal. Arizona law sets boundaries on that authority.
An agent may not limit, restrict or prohibit reasonable contact between the principal and any other person without prior court approval, unless the principal has granted the agent such authority in a health care directive.
A.R.S. § 36-3211(B)The agent must allow reasonable visits unless the directive specifically grants authority to restrict contact. If the agent believes someone's presence is harmful, the agent can petition the court for a protective order. But the agent cannot act alone on that decision.
How Courts Handle Contact Disputes
Arizona provides a formal process for resolving these disputes. A family member, friend, or even the principal can petition the court for a contact order.
The person filing must show two things. First, they have a significant relationship with the principal. Second, the contact is in the principal's best interest.
The court looks at several factors. For example, it considers the history of the relationship and the principal's own wishes. It also weighs the principal's physical and emotional health and whether contact has ever been harmful.
The court can also order mediation if it seems helpful. In elder law, these disputes arise often enough that courts have clear standards for evaluating them.
This statute matters most for blended families, estranged relatives, and situations where one person controls access to another. It ensures that a health care proxy or agent cannot sever the principal's relationships without court oversight.
When someone serves as a health care agent through a durable power of attorney, that role comes with limits. The agent does not gain unlimited control over the principal's relationships.