Why do you need to take care of your Healthcare Surrogate Designations?
We all plan on living long, happy lives, but we should always be prepared for when unexpected problems arise. When you designate a healthcare surrogate, you are preparing yourself and your loved ones for potentially stressful situations. You are also ensuring that your healthcare decisions are in the hands of someone your trust. You are making your own difficult decisions.
In the event you reach the point that you are not able to handle your own medical decisions because of injury, illness or your advanced age, having the appropriate legal paperwork in place are essential parts of your lifeline. If you don’t want to write down your wishes in regards to your medical care, you want to ensure you have someone named to oversee your medical care.
If you don’t have a healthcare surrogate designation in place, your important life-changing events could be left up to estranged relatives, judges or doctors who know nothing or very little about your preferences. To ensure your wishes are followed, you should complete two critical healthcare documents in Florida.
You need to have a designation of healthcare surrogate completed. The second form you complete should be a living will, which determines what kind of medical treatment you would or would not like to receive in Florida. When naming your healthcare surrogate, you can name any person you trust, most people choose a spouse, parent, adult child or close friend to handle the job. Florida law declares that the person you name as your surrogate cannot witness the document.
If you have not named a healthcare surrogate, you should schedule an appointment with a Florida estate attorney, who can guide you through the process and make other suggestions regarding making preparations for the futures of you and your family.
About Heidi S. Webb, Attorney at Law: Heidi Webb is an Estate Planning and small business attorney located in Daytona Beach, Florida. See what clients are saying about Heidi, follow her on Facebook, and connect with her on Google+ or LinkedIn.
