Coral Gables Healthcare Directive Lawyer

Most people wish to control their medical care, whether it is to authorize or decline certain treatment or direct end-stage care. This control is compromised if you are comatose after a catastrophic accident, or you develop dementia. If a court determines you are incapacitated, the court could order these intimate choices to be made by someone else instead – often a stranger.

There is a way for you to retain control over your healthcare, no matter what the future holds, by reaching out to a respected estate planning attorney. This legal strategy is set in place while you are of sound mind, giving you peace in knowing your wishes for future medical decisions will be upheld. To ensure you are protected against any future medical decisions not of your making, contact a Coral Gables advanced healthcare directive lawyer now.

Understanding Advanced Healthcare Directives

Advanced healthcare directives in Florida involve three documents. The first designates a surrogate to make healthcare decisions when the maker cannot, according to Florida Statute § 765.202, and the second is a living will.. Among the questions everyone should ask include:

Should every measure available be utilized to keep them alive or do they prefer to die peacefully when it is inevitable?
Do they want to donate organs to save others or be used for science?
Do they want to withhold food and water if they are not able to eat or drink?
Do they want a maximum dose of pain medication or less medication, so they are conscious at the end?

These are difficult questions to consider. Individuals should talk to family members and physicians and then contact a caring attorney in Coral Gables who will listen carefully to craft an appropriate healthcare directive.

Designating a Healthcare Surrogate

Designating a healthcare surrogate in Coral Gables involves appointing a trusted family member or friend to make medical decisions for a person who cannot. As surrogate, the appointee figuratively steps into the shoes of the maker, consults with physicians, and authorizes medical procedures to which the surrogate believes the maker would have consented. This invaluable document is not just for the elderly battling dementia or crippling end-stage sickness, but for people of any age who may become incapacitated by accident or illness.

The Living Will

Living wills are created while the maker is mentally sound, but they speak to the medical staff and family if the maker’s condition is terminal, and they are incapacitated. Living wills are formal declarations announcing whether the maker does or does not wish extraordinary means to be taken to keep them alive, such as respirators, feeding tubes, and ventilators.

Pain medicine is generally administered unless the patient refuses it in the living will, which must be signed and witnessed by two people, one of whom cannot be a blood relative. The patient is responsible for notifying physicians that a living will has been adopted.

Talk to a Coral Gables Healthcare Directive Attorney and Plan for the Future

The time will come when you contemplate your potential end-of-life care. While it is easy when you are young to brush your thoughts away, it is better to face them head-on and take action that will give you peace of mind.

Advanced healthcare directives are a good idea for everyone. Hopefully you will not need them for many years, but if you set them in place, you can choose who will make medical decisions for you later and what measures are taken if your prognosis is terminal. Schedule a consultation with a Coral Gables healthcare directive lawyer today.