What Are Advanced Healthcare Directives?

If you are like many people in Florida, you may feel very strongly about the medical care and treatment you want to receive. Your wishes become even more important when you cannot articulate them due to a physical or mental incapacity. If you want to make sure that your opinions for health care during your lifetime, or at the end of your life, are upheld it is important to create advanced healthcare directives. Below, our Daytona Beach estate planning lawyer outlines the directives you may want to draft.

Health Care Surrogate Designation 

A healthcare surrogate designation is a legal document that appoints one or more people to make healthcare decisions on your behalf if you are unable to do it yourself. These are also sometimes referred to as a ‘healthcare power of attorney,’ but do not confuse them with a durable power of attorney, which designates a person to manage your finances. A health care surrogate designation will be triggered if a medical provider determines that you are incapacitated. Some situations when a health care surrogate designation may apply are as follows:

• Temporary incapacitation due to substance abuse or rehabilitation,
• General anesthesia during surgery,
• Chronic conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease or dementia,
• Physical disabilities that leave you unable to communicate effectively, such as stroke, Parkinson’s Disease, or aphasia, and
• Unconsciousness or another physical incapacity.

Guardian Designation 

In a guardianship proceeding, a third party is designated as the caregiver of someone who is incapacitated. The courts can name an individual or a professional to handle your care. Creating a guardian designation while you still have the capacity can help you avoid future litigation. It will also ensure that the person you choose as guardian is designated by the court.

HIPAA Confidentiality Waivers 

Your advanced healthcare directive should include waivers of the confidentiality laws under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Certain medical providers require you to complete their own HIPAA confidentiality waiver, as opposed to interpreting the language contained in the advanced healthcare directive. When creating your advanced healthcare directive, you should contact your medical providers to ensure that you are using the form they will uphold when the time comes.

Living Will 

Living wills in Florida are very popular. A living will states that you do not want any life-saving measures taken if you are in a permanent vegetative state, terminally ill, or have an end-stage condition that is not reversible and two or more doctors agree that there is no reasonable hope for a recovery. Living wills provide a great deal of guidance to families who must make important but difficult decisions.

Our Estate Planning Lawyer in Daytona Beach Can Draft Your Documents 

When creating your estate plan, there are many important documents to draft. They all must be executed properly to ensure that your wishes are fulfilled and to save your family from additional stress after you pass away. At Bundza & Rodriguez, our Daytona Beach estate planning lawyer will advise on the documents you need, the requirements for them, and draft them properly to ensure your wishes are respected. Call us today at 386-252-5170 or chat with us online to schedule a consultation and to learn more.

Sources:

hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/laws-regulations/index.html#:~:text=The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA,and security of health information.

floridabar.org/public/consumer/consumer003/