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A legal document expressing an individual’s desires concerning the providing, withholding, or withdrawal of life-prolonging procedures. A valid Living Will creates a rebuttable presumption of clear and convincing evidence of your wishes with respect to life-prolonging procedures.
No. A Living Will only addresses a person’s wishes for life-prolonging procedures when there is a terminal condition, end-stage condition, or persistent vegetative state. A Living Will would govern whether you wanted to be put on life support after you have been in a coma.
A Last Will and Testament handles the disposition of an individual’s estate upon death. It does not address a person’s health care decisions or life-prolonging procedures.
Yes. The Terri Schiavo case, which became widely publicized across the country, shows the need for young people to have a living will. Ms. Schiavo was only 26 years old when she suddenly suffered cardiac arrest and was subsequently left comatose for over a decade. Since she did not have a living will, the courts had to decide whether Ms. Schiavo would have wanted the feeding tube removed. Under current Florida law, this would not have occurred if she had her wishes in a Living Will. The anguish and legal expense incurred by her family could have been avoided by a Living Will.
Yes. The State of Florida has specific procedural requirements for executing a Living Will. If you do not execute the document correctly or you have the wrong person witness the documents, then it will not be legally enforceable. An estate planning attorney can ensure a Living Will is prepared and executed correctly.
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