You should always be in charge of every element of your life. But what choices do you have in the event of a medical emergency? There are certain documents that can be established in your estate plan that cover certain contingencies. For example, many people wonder what a living will can do for them. Our experienced estate planning attorney shares some important details.
What Is a Living Will?
A living will is a legal document included as part of a larger health care directive in an estate plan that lays out your wishes and preferences regarding medical care if you’re ever unable to make decisions on your own. It provides your doctors, family, and friends with written instructions about how to handle your medical circumstances.
People often establish living wills when they’re diagnosed with a serious or terminal illness in order to make sure that their end-of-life wishes are known and respected. Living wills are also commonly used to specify a person's wishes related to end-of-life care should they become permanently unconscious or become unable to make decisions due to a debilitating illness.
In certain cases, an individual may work with their physicians to include a do-not-resuscitate provision in their living will. This is a medical directive that communicates a patient's wishes to forgo extreme medical interventions—such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation or intubation for end-of-life situations—and that only palliative care will be provided.
By planning ahead with a living will, you guarantee that your wishes for both life and death are honored.
How Your Florida Estate Planning Attorney Develops a Living Will
First, you’ll partner with your attorney to cover the details of what you wish to happen and what your preferences are for life-saving measures. Once you approve the draft, a living will in Florida must be authorized and signed by you in the presence of two witnesses—at least one of whom is neither your spouse nor a blood relative. Then, it’s your responsibility to notify your physicians, hospital, or health care facility of the living will and its existence, along with family members or friends who might help in the event of an emergency.
Florida courts generally recognize a living will signed in another state as long as it was authorized in accordance with the laws of that state or of Florida.
A living will shouldn’t be confused with a will and testament, which disperses your assets after your passing, appoints a personal representative, or revokes or revises a prior will. However, both documents are critical components of a thoughtful estate plan.