Can You Get a Will Drafted in a Hospital?

The phone call usually goes something like this: “My mom is in the hospital. She doesn’t have a will. Can you come?”

The answer is yes. I do this regularly — for people facing surgery, people with new diagnoses, parents whose adult children realize the family has no legal authority to make decisions, spouses who only just learned their partner’s situation. It’s one of the most meaningful things I do.

Here’s how it actually works.

The key question: capacity

Before anything else, this needs to be said clearly: the person signing the documents has to have the legal capacity to do so.

That means they need to understand:

• That they’re creating a will or other estate planning document
• Generally what they own (the “nature and extent” of their property)
• Who their natural beneficiaries would be (spouse, children, parents)
• How they want those things to come together

Capacity is not the same as being healthy. It’s not even the same as being lucid all day. Someone can be on pain medication, in and out of awareness, or recovering from a procedure and still have capacity during periods of clarity. The legal standard is whether they meet those four points at the time of signing.

Conversely, if someone is severely cognitively impaired, sedated, or unable to engage in the conversation, no attorney can ethically draft documents for them. This is a hard line and it’s in everyone’s interest.

What hospitals and facilities I can come to

For Louisville-area clients, I’m available on-site at:

• Hospitals (Baptist Health, Norton, UofL Health, etc.)
• Nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities
• Rehabilitation centers
• Assisted living facilities
• Hospice facilities
• Memory care units (with capacity evaluation)

I travel with a portable printer and scanner so documents can be drafted, printed, signed, and notarized on-site. For clients further out in Kentucky, Indiana, or Ohio, I work remotely — documents drafted on a rushed timeline and delivered electronically with detailed signing instructions. Distance hospital visits may be possible in limited circumstances.

Who needs to be there

For the signing itself, you typically need:

• The signer (obviously)
• A notary (I am one, so this is covered)
• Two witnesses who are not named in the documents. Hospital staff often can’t serve as witnesses due to policy. Family members named in the will also can’t. We usually find two friends, neighbors, or unrelated staff members.

I’ll coordinate with the family on witnesses ahead of the appointment so we’re not scrambling when I arrive.

What documents we’d typically draft

In a true emergency, the goal is to put the essentials in place — not the most elaborate plan, just one that protects the person and their family:

The four critical documents

1. Last will and testament — who gets what; who serves as executor; who serves as guardian if there are minor children
2. Durable power of attorney — who can manage financial decisions if the person becomes unable to
3. Living will / advance directive — medical wishes around end-of-life care
4. Medical power of attorney (healthcare surrogate) — who makes medical decisions if the person can’t

I also include a HIPAA authorization so the named decision-makers can actually access medical information.

If the situation allows for it and a trust is the right structure, I can also do trust-based emergency planning — but it adds time and complexity. Sometimes the right call is to do a clean will-based plan now and convert to a trust-based plan later, after the immediate crisis has passed.

How fast can this happen?

Emergency timelines at Cooper Law are 48–72 hours from when intake is complete. For truly urgent situations (surgery tomorrow morning, declining condition), I’ll work faster — sometimes within a day. Always call first to confirm I can meet your timeline before you commit.

The cost of bedside estate planning

I price emergency planning at flat fees:

• Will-based emergency plan: $3,500
• Trust-based emergency plan: $5,000

Both include all four critical documents (plus HIPAA), on-site visit if in the Louisville area, and notarization. Both are delivered within 48–72 hours. Payment plans are available on request.

What if my loved one can’t sign?

If capacity is already gone, the answer changes. You can’t retroactively give someone the legal authority to make decisions they no longer have the capacity to grant.

In that case, the path forward is usually guardianship — a court process where a judge appoints someone to make decisions for the incapacitated person. It’s slower, more expensive, and more invasive than estate planning would have been. I don’t handle guardianship cases personally, but I can refer you to attorneys who do.

The lesson, painfully, is that estate planning has to happen before it’s urgent. The window closes faster than people realize.

What to do right now

If you’re reading this because a parent, spouse, or loved one is in the hospital and doesn’t have estate planning in place:

1. Call us directly: 502-754-1351
2. Be ready to describe the medical situation honestly
3. Know the loved one’s general financial picture (you don’t need exact numbers — just “owns a home, has retirement accounts, etc.”)
4. Have a sense of who they’d want as executor, guardian, and decision-makers

I’ll assess whether we can move quickly enough and whether capacity allows it. If yes, we move. If no, I’ll point you to the right next step.

Allison Cooper, JD, CPA, CFP®

Allison Cooper is the founder of Cooper Law, LLC, an estate planning firm based in Louisville, Kentucky. She holds a JD, CPA, and CFP® and is licensed to practice law in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio.