Living Wills & Advance Directives in Sarasota

Coordinated Incapacity Planning, Built by Board-Certified Elder Law Counsel

An advance directive is an umbrella term for several documents that record your health care wishes if you become unable to speak for yourself. In Florida, that typically means a living will, a designation of health care surrogate, and sometimes a durable power of attorney for finances. At Advocates in Aging: Law Office of Wiesner Smith, we draft these documents together as one coordinated incapacity plan rather than as isolated forms.

Our firm has served Sarasota clients in elder law and estate planning since 1983, and our attorneys bring more than 46 years of combined experience to this work. Attorney Ira Wiesner is board certified as an Elder Law Specialist by the Florida Bar, a credential that directly informs how we approach incapacity planning.

If you don’t yet have a living will or advance directive in place, we can help. Call us at (941) 242-7270 to schedule your free 30-minute consultation by phone or in person.

Florida’s Requirements for a Valid Living Will

Florida Statutes Chapter 765 governs health care advance directives. Under Section 765.302, any competent adult may execute a living will directing that life-prolonging procedures be provided, withheld, or withdrawn if they are diagnosed with a terminal condition, an end-stage condition, or are in a persistent vegetative state. These three conditions define when a living will becomes operative under Florida law.

Execution follows specific rules. You must sign the document in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, and at least one witness must be neither your spouse nor a blood relative. If you’re physically unable to sign, one of the witnesses may sign your name in your presence and at your direction. Once your primary physician is notified that a living will exists, the document must be made part of your medical record. A properly executed living will creates a rebuttable presumption of clear and convincing evidence of your wishes under Florida law.

Living Wills vs. Health Care Surrogate Designations

These two documents serve different functions and work best together. A living will states your own instructions about life-prolonging procedures. A designation of health care surrogate names another person to make health care decisions on your behalf when you can’t. Together, they cover situations where your instructions anticipate the circumstances and situations where an agent must exercise judgment on your behalf.

Florida Statute 765.202 sets the signing requirements for a surrogate designation: two subscribing adult witnesses, with at least one who is neither your spouse nor a blood relative. The person you name as your health care surrogate can’t also serve as a witness to that document. We help clients think through who to name, how to document their wishes precisely, and how their living will, health care surrogate designation, and durable power of attorney fit together as a complete plan.