A Florida living will allows you to state your wishes about life-prolonging treatment if you later become unable to make or communicate those decisions and meet the medical conditions addressed by Florida law.
It is an important part of advance healthcare planning, but it is not the same as a last will and testament, a designation of health care surrogate, or a Florida Do Not Resuscitate Order.
Florida Consumer Lawyers helps clients prepare living wills that clearly document treatment preferences and coordinate with a health care surrogate designation, durable power of attorney, and other estate-planning documents.
The goal is to make the client's wishes easier to identify if serious medical circumstances later prevent the client from speaking for themselves.
What Is a Living Will in Florida?
A living will is a written advance directive concerning the providing, withholding, or withdrawal of life-prolonging procedures.
Under Florida law, a competent adult may make a living will addressing circumstances in which the person later has a terminal condition, end-stage condition, or persistent vegetative state.
A living will is intended to communicate the person's own treatment wishes rather than leaving those wishes entirely to family members or medical decision-makers.
When Does a Florida Living Will Apply?
A living will does not automatically control simply because a person is unconscious or unable to speak.
Before life-prolonging procedures are withheld or withdrawn under the statutory framework, Florida law requires determinations involving the person's capacity and medical condition, including whether the person has a terminal condition, end-stage condition, or persistent vegetative state.
What Decisions Can a Living Will Address?
A living will can address whether life-prolonging procedures should be provided, withheld, or withdrawn under the circumstances described in the directive and Florida law.
Florida's suggested statutory form also expressly preserves comfort care and treatment intended to alleviate pain.
Additional instructions may be included when appropriate, but the document should be drafted carefully so that the person's wishes are understandable and workable in a real medical setting.
Does a Living Will Name the Person Who Makes Medical Decisions?
It can identify a surrogate to carry out the living will, but a living will and a broader designation of health care surrogate are not the same document.
A health care surrogate designation focuses on who may make healthcare decisions. A living will focuses on the person's wishes concerning life-prolonging procedures in specified circumstances.
Many clients should consider both documents.
Is a Living Will the Same as a DNR?
No.
A Florida living will is an advance directive concerning life-prolonging procedures.
A Florida Do Not Resuscitate Order is a separate medical order dealing specifically with resuscitation. The two documents serve different purposes and should not be treated as interchangeable.
How Is a Florida Living Will Signed?
A Florida living will must be signed by the principal in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, and at least one witness must be neither the principal's spouse nor a blood relative. If the principal is physically unable to sign, one of the witnesses may sign the principal's name in the principal's presence and at the principal's direction.
Why Should You Have a Living Will?
A living will gives you the opportunity to document your treatment preferences before a serious medical condition prevents you from communicating those decisions personally.
It can help:
- Clarify your wishes for family members and healthcare providers;
- Reduce uncertainty about life-prolonging treatment;
- Give your health care surrogate clearer guidance;
- Support more consistent decision-making during a medical crisis; and
- Make your broader advance-directive plan more complete.
Is a Living Will Only for Older or Seriously Ill People?
No.
A living will is an advance-planning document. Serious illness or injury can occur unexpectedly, and the document is most useful when it is prepared before a crisis.
The goal is not to predict what will happen. It is to document your wishes while you have the capacity and time to make those decisions carefully.
What Is the Difference Between a Living Will and a Last Will and Testament?
A living will addresses healthcare treatment preferences during your lifetime if specified medical conditions arise and you cannot make or communicate those decisions.
A last will and testament addresses property, beneficiaries, the personal representative, and other estate matters after death.
The two documents serve completely different purposes, and many basic estate plans include both.
Do You Need Both a Living Will and a Health Care Surrogate?
Often, yes.
A living will provides treatment instructions. A designation of health care surrogate identifies the person who may make healthcare decisions and communicate with providers.
Using both can provide clearer guidance and a designated decision-maker.
What Should You Do With a Living Will After It Is Signed?
After execution:
- Keep the original somewhere accessible;
- Give a copy to your health care surrogate and alternate surrogate;
- Consider giving a copy to your physician or regular healthcare provider;
- Let close family members know the document exists; and
- Make sure the people who may need it know where it can be found.
A living will is much more useful when it can be located quickly during a medical emergency.
When Should You Review or Update a Living Will?
Review the document when important circumstances change, including:
- A major diagnosis;
- Significant changes in treatment preferences;
- Marriage or divorce;
- Death or incapacity of the person you expected to assist with healthcare decisions;
- Moving to Florida from another state; or
- Any time the existing document no longer reflects your wishes.
What If Your Living Will Was Signed in Another State?
Moving to Florida is a good time to have the document reviewed.
Even when an out-of-state directive may still be recognized, a review can help determine whether the document fits Florida law, current medical wishes, and the rest of the estate plan.
Living Will, Health Care Surrogate, and DNRO: What Is the Difference?
Living Will — States treatment preferences concerning life-prolonging procedures under specified medical conditions.
Health Care Surrogate Designation — Names the person who may make healthcare decisions.
DNRO — A separate medical order dealing specifically with resuscitation.
These documents can work together, but they are not interchangeable.
Talk With a Florida Living Will Lawyer
A living will should clearly reflect your treatment preferences and fit with the rest of your healthcare and estate-planning documents.
Florida Consumer Lawyers can help you prepare or update a Florida living will and coordinate it with a health care surrogate designation, durable power of attorney, and last will and testament.
We Can Help If You Need To:
- Create your first living will;
- Update an existing living will;
- Review an out-of-state directive;
- Coordinate a living will with a health care surrogate;
- Clarify the difference between a living will and DNRO;
- Replace outdated healthcare documents; or
- Build a simple advance-directive plan.
Need a Florida Living Will or Want an Existing One Reviewed?
Start with a review of your healthcare wishes and the people you trust to help carry them out.
Get a Free Estate Planning Consultation
Or Call (813) 282-9330
Living wills are fact-specific, and the appropriate language depends on the person's medical preferences, family circumstances, and broader healthcare-planning goals.