Florida Wills

As a competent adult you should have the right to make decisions about your health, including the right to choose or refuse medical treatment.  In the event that you are no longer able to make decisions for yourself due to a change in your physical or mental capacity you are considered incapacitated.  In order for your wishes to still be followed in that event, the Florida legislature has created laws dealing with health care advance directives.

A health care advance directive allows you to leave medical instructions for what medical services you would like your physician to perform or withheld regarding life-prolonged procedures.  It also allows you to designate another person to make medical treatment decisions on your behalf in the event that you cannot make the decisions on your own.

One type of advance directive is a living will.  A Florida living will is a written or oral statement about the kind of medical care your would want performed or not performed in the event that you are not able to make your own decisions.  A living will is different than a traditional will in that it goes into effect while you are still alive.  It is wise to have a health care provider review your living will to be sure that it is completed in such a way that your wishes will be understood by a physician.

A living will allows your loved ones to know what your wishes are when you cannot communicate them because of your mental or physical state such as when death is imminent, if you are in a coma or are in a vegetative state.  When you decide now what you would want done if you were to be put on life support you save your family from having to make very difficult decisions.  A Florida living will will also allow you to make specific decisions about pain medication, feeding tubes, and if you would want to be left on life support for only a specific period of time.

Writing a living will is an important step in estate planning.  A Florida estate lawyer will help you to write a living will so that it will meet all of the legal requirements for the state of Florida.  They will be able to answer all of your questions and will help to ensure that your wishes are carried out.