Living Wills

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Making decisions about your medical care is a right people often take for granted. When situations arise where you are no longer able to make or communicate your wishes regarding your own health, it is important to have a living will to communicate them for you. This legal document works to ensure that your desires are heard.

Creating a living will in Florida allows your family members and medical providers to know exactly what medical interventions and specific choices you want during end-of-life medical care. Planning ahead for a living will might be something you’d rather avoid, but if you prepare one today, it will help avoid undue stress and uncertainty for your loved ones. Contact the estate planning lawyers at Ginsberg Shulman today for help preparing your living will.

What is a Living Will?

A living will is a legal document that provides details regarding a person’s desired choices in medical treatments should they become incapacitated and unable to communicate those choices. Also called an advance directive or a healthcare directive, this document typically outlines what kind of medical care and interventions a person does or does not want, such as mechanical ventilation, tube feeding, resuscitation, and other critical medical choices. The intention of this document is to ensure that a person’s wishes are respected by both family members and healthcare professionals should the case arrive.

Living wills also can be viewed as a preventative measure over causing additional stress and pain to loved ones during a time of declining health. Respecting your choices over medical treatments can be a lot easier than trying to predict what you would want them to choose. This peace of mind may not take away the stress of the situation, but it can greatly reduce their uncertainty and emotional stress.

There is a lot of risk in not having your wishes stated in a living will, and when you need one, you will not be able to communicate or make choices for yourself. Nearly two-thirds of Americans don’t have living wills, according to the American College of Emergency Physicians. Prepare for your future today and have peace of mind that you are covered for whatever could happen, no matter how far away it might be.

Types of Medical Treatments Often Covered in Living Wills

Commonly, living wills specifically address critical medical choices, end-of-life care, and organ donation. Some people desire not to undergo these life-sustaining treatments if their condition is declining or in situations where there is little to no chance of recovery. Addressed healthcare decisions covered can vary but typically cover life-sustaining treatments, including:

    • Antibiotics or antiviral medications may be recommended to treat infections aggressively.
    • Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a life-sustaining treatment that can be administered if the heart stops beating.
  • Comfort care or palliative care includes interventions and pain management but focuses on comfort of the patient rather than prolonging life.
  • Dialysis or using a machine to perform the function of the kidneys.
  • Mechanical ventilation uses a machine to assist with or completely take over breathing for a patient.
  • Pacemakers and other devices are implantable life-sustaining devices that shock the heart into regular rhythms. Directives should be given regarding turning them off or if you would prefer for them not to be implanted at all.
  • Pain management includes preferences for comfort care and pain relief, even if it means that death might come sooner.
  • Requests to not be admitted to the hospital or transferred to an emergency room might also fall under the guidance of a living will.
  • Tube feeding uses a medical intervention to provide the patient with nutrition and hydration.

It is your right to be able to decide how you deal with your last days. If you have a terminal condition or are in a permanent state of unconsciousness, you may not be able to advise your loved ones and healthcare workers on what your desired level of mechanical or artificial intervention is. Covering this in a living will can help ensure that you prevent unwanted treatments and give those around you peace of mind when it comes to your wishes.

Organ donation can be specified within a living will, as what is done with a body is an important choice that should be made by the individual while they are still alive. However, choosing this could mean you may be kept on life-sustaining treatment temporarily until a transplant is complete. You may wish to request that this be specified directly in your will to avoid any potential confusion regarding your treatment.

Do Not Resuscitate and Do Not Intubate Orders

Specific orders for do not resuscitate (DNR) and do not intubate (DNI) do not need to be written in an advanced directive for medical decisions to be legally followed by medical professionals. If you are still able to communicate these wishes, you can specify this to a doctor who will record them in your medical records. However, it is still important to specify in your living will in the event that you are not able to provide this direction to your medical professionals.

Living Wills Florida Legal Requirements

Each state has its own requirements for advanced directives, so it is important to get the help of a Florida living will attorney who is experienced and knowledgeable about the specific requirements. Living wills must follow these criteria in the state of Florida:

  • Must be in writing
  • Must be signed by the maker of the living will directly
  • Must have at least two witnesses sign the document

Florida Statute 765.303 provides a template that you can use as a basis or starting off point for your living will. This template contains many of the common medical treatments and situations that are typically documented. The document does not need to be notarized but must be signed in the presence of two witnesses, of whom at least one cannot be a blood relative or spouse. Getting assistance from an elder law attorney from Ginsberg Shulman ensures that all requirements are followed and that the document is thorough in its details.

Does a Living Will Need to be Notarized?

A living will does not need to be notarized in the state of Florida. It must, however, be signed in the presence of two witnesses and signed by them on the document itself. Of these witnesses, at least one must not be a blood relative or a spouse.

How to Make a Living Will

Preparing a living will does not need to be difficult. This legal document needs to be in writing, and you can use the health care advance directives template provided by the 2023 Florida Statute. You must have the signatures of two witnesses to the signing, and at least one of them should not be a relative or a spouse. If you want to make sure that your living will is prepared and completed thoroughly, make sure to get the help of a Florida estate planning services law firm.

Our living will attorneys will guide you through the entire process and make sure that your wishes are written down in totality. We will guide you through the decision-making process without questioning your decisions but providing information and assistance when required. We provide our clients compassionate guidance and advice while ensuring your document legally complies with any laws and regulations in the state of Florida.

It could help to speak with a doctor regarding various treatment options. Advance care planning coverage is provided as a part of Medicare Part B as a part of your yearly wellness visit. You may also be covered through private health insurance, so be sure to check with your provider. Ask questions regarding your current health and the kinds of decisions that are possible in your future. Be sure that you take time to learn and feel comfortable about the important decisions you are making.

Completing Your Living Will and When to Update

Once you have completed your living will communicate with your healthcare providers and family members about your wishes. If you are not ready to have the discussion, be sure to store it in a safe place and give copies to important contacts. This should include your healthcare providers, any alternate agents or trusted proxies, and appropriate family members. You may choose to carry a card in your wallet or purse that indicates to emergency service workers that you have a living will and identifies your healthcare provider’s information so that they can be contacted in case there is an incident in which you are not able to provide guidance.

Should an important life event come up, such as a move to another state or a divorce, be sure to update your living will based on that new information and adhere to any new regulations that may apply. You may also wish to update your living will after a new diagnosis significantly alters your life; be sure to do so after you have discussed possible courses of treatment, life expectancy, and care choices that could be expected with this new condition.

Even if nothing changes, you should also update your living will every 10 years. Whether or not your care decisions have changed, it is still important to review your choices and be sure that they reflect your current choices and values. If you make changes to your living will, you will have to draft and file a new document, which will then have to be handed out to the same healthcare professionals, proxies, and family members. Because of this, keeping track of who has copies of your current living will may be important. If a healthcare professional has an old copy of your living will, they may not follow your current wishes unless someone is able to get them the correct and updated document in time.

Florida’s Designation of Healthcare Surrogate Directive

In Florida, a designation of healthcare surrogate directive is typically appointed jointly with a living will. This is a legal designation of a specific person who is appointed to handle your end-of-life wishes that are specified in the living will. While any authority granted by the living will ends when a person dies, a designated health care surrogate will still have authority to help regarding autopsies or post-life direction.

A healthcare surrogate might also be referred to as a proxy, representative, or agent. Should the need arise, this person will work closely with your healthcare team and ensure that your preferences regarding care and treatment are followed thoroughly. This representative can be chosen in addition to a living will or instead of it, but a more thorough legal direction for your care is always a better choice.

You can find information on advance care planning along with an official conversation guide from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services on the National Institute on Aging’s website or order a print version to be delivered to your home. This guide, along with legal advice from your Florida living will attorney, will help provide you with a full scope and perspective of your options and guide you through the process of creating a living will. Get started today creating these directives, and contact our team for any assistance in drafting and finalizing this vital legal document.

Contact Ginsberg Shulman Attorney for Assistance With Preparing Your Living Will

It is essential to prepare a living will before a severe injury or illness occurs and decisions are no longer within your control. By preparing for unforeseen or anticipated end-of-life medical scenarios, you maintain all authority over your own health decisions and shield your loved ones from having the stress and uncertainty of having to make those decisions on their own.

Contact Ginsberg Shulman Attorneys at Law at (954) 691-0394 or schedule a consultation online. We will discuss your current situation and ensure that you are aware of your rights, available choices, and options. We will arrange a consultation with an experienced Florida estate planning attorney who can assist you in drafting your living will.