Medical Directives

Florida Statute 765 provides for Advance Directives which are written, and witnessed documents in which instructions are given or expressed concerning any aspect of a person’s health care. This includes a living will, the designation of a health care surrogate and/or the making of an anatomical gift.

Living Will A Living Will directs the withholding or withdrawal of life-prolonging procedures if the person has (1) a terminal condition; (2) an end-stage condition; or (3) is in a persistent vegetative state. A living will must be signed by the principal (the one making it) in the presence of two adult witnesses, who cannot be a spouse or blood relative.

Health Care Surrogate A person may designate another person to make health care decisions for them in the event that they are unable to do so. A designation of health care surrogate must be signed by the principal (the one making it) in the presence of two adult witnesses. The person named as the surrogate can not act as witness to the signing of the document designating him/her as the surrogate.

Anatomical Gift Donation An anatomical gift is a donation of organs and tissues after death. Advancements in medicine have now made it possible to transplant twenty-five different human organs and tissues, including corneas, heart, liver, kidney, lungs, pancreas, bone and skin. Donations may also be used for research related to diseases, disabilities and injuries. As the success rate of transplants continues to increase, more anatomical gifts are needed.

Estate Planning can also include pre-marital and post-marital agreements. Discussion of these documents as well as wills or trusts are all tools of proper estate planning and can be found in more detail in another section of my web site.