Florida law recognizes the right of a competent adult to make an advance directive instructing his or her physician to provide, withhold, or withdraw life-prolonging procedures and to designate another individual to make treatment decisions if the person becomes unable to make his or her own decisions. Additionally, Florida law does not require you to be incapacitated to elect a health care surrogate to make your decisions.
An advance directive is a written statement about how you want medical decisions made should you not be able to make them yourself. Some people make advance directives when they are diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. Others put their wishes into writing while they are healthy, often as part of their estate planning. The experienced Trust and Estate Planning Attorneys at the Law Office of Fausto A. Rosales, P.A. have experience walking clients through this difficult part of the estate planning process. Give us a call to discuss whether a living will and/or healthcare surrogate designation is suitable for your estate plan.