Florida Living Wills

Living wills are an important part of a Florida Estate Plan and one that you should fully understand.  Our attorneys and lawyers who prepare Florida Living Will understand the issues surrounding the use and creation of them.

A Florida Living Will allows your doctors, family, and health care providers to make decisions on your continued medical treatment. There are very limited circumstances when the Florida Living Will can advise of your wishes. The Florida Living Will is only effective when you are mentally and physically incapacitated and your doctor and another doctor determine to a reasonable degree of medical probability that additional medical treatment will only prolong the process of dying.

There are three circumstances when this decision can be made and you get to choose under which of them to discontinue medical treatment. The first is when you are in a persistent vegetative state or brain dead. You may recall Terri Schiavo and the struggle her family went through. If she had had a Florida Living Will we would not know who she was. The second and third are similar to each other but differ in the way in which you arrive at the medical condition. They are from a terminal condition, or an end stage condition which was not terminal but has essentially become terminal because of how the condition has advanced.

The Designation of Health Care Surrogate is not a Florida Living Will but often used in conjunction with a Florida Living Will to allow your agent to make decisions that the Florida Living Will does not cover. It is also important to have a HIPAA release in conjunction with a Designation of Health Care Surrogate to allow your agents access to your medical records to make proper decisions. The new privacy laws prevent your spouse or family from finding out medical information.

We often prepare a single document that includes a Florida Living Will, Florida Designation of Health Care Surrogate, and Florida HIPAA release. By using a single document of which is referred to as a Combination Living Will Designation of Health Care Surrogate & HIPAA Release your agent will be able to make decisions for your which are not inconsistent with overall decisions found in the Living Will. By using separate documents your agents can show one document but withhold others to achieve their desired results and not necessarily yours.

If you need help deciding which type of Medical Powers of Attorney you need, you should contact a Florida Living Will Attorney Lawyer. Apple Law Firm can provide the guidance you need to make the right decision for your individual set of circumstances.

TO SET UP A FREE CONSULTATION, CONTACT A FLORIDA LIVING WILL LAWYER ONLINE OR CALL US AT (904) 685-1200.