Nebraska Revised Statutes Chapter 30. Decedents' Estates; Protection of Persons and Property § 30-609. Surrogate; powers; objection to surrogate decision; how treated

(1) When the authority conferred on a surrogate under the Health Care Surrogacy Act has commenced, the surrogate, subject to any individual instructions, shall make health care decisions on the individual's behalf, except that the surrogate shall not have authority (a) to consent to any act or omission to which the individual could not consent under law, (b) to make any decision when the individual is known to be pregnant that will result in the death of the individual's unborn child if it is probable that the unborn child will develop to the point of live birth with continued application of health care, or (c) to make decisions regarding withholding or withdrawing a life-sustaining procedure or withholding or withdrawing artificially administered nutrition or hydration except as provided under section 30-610.

(2) If no agent or guardian has been appointed for the individual, the surrogate shall have priority over any person other than the individual to act for the individual in all health care decisions, except that the surrogate shall not have the authority to make any health care decision unless and until the individual has been determined to be incapable of making health care decisions pursuant to section 30-606.

(3) A person who would not otherwise be personally responsible for the cost of health care provided to the individual shall not become personally responsible for such cost because he or she has acted as the individual's surrogate.

(4) Except to the extent that the right is limited by the individual, a surrogate shall have the same right as the individual to receive information regarding the proposed health care, to receive and review medical and clinical records, and to consent to the disclosures of such records, except that the right to access such records shall not be a waiver of any evidentiary privilege.

(5) Notwithstanding a determination pursuant to section 30-606 that the individual is incapable of making health care decisions, when the individual objects to the determination or to a health care decision made by a surrogate, the individual's objection or decision shall prevail unless the individual is determined by a county court to be incapable of making health care decisions.