Florida Advance Directive Form [PDF]

Florida Statutes define an advance directive for health care as a legal document or oral statement in which a person—the principal—specifies their preferences for medical treatment. 

An advance directive form can include the following three documents:

• Living will. Instructions on the medical treatments or interventions the person wants or does not want if they are in a terminal condition.

• Health care surrogate designation (durable power of attorney). Designation of someone (a health care surrogate) to make medical decisions on their behalf if they cannot do so.

• Anatomical gift. The person's wishes regarding donating their organs or tissues after death.

Signing Requirements for Florida Advance Health Care Directive

If a healthcare advance directive includes both a living will and a medical power of attorney (designation of a healthcare surrogate), it must meet the following requirements to be valid and legally enforceable, as defined in Section 765.202(1) and 765.302(1).

Florida Advance Health Care Directive Revocation & Changing

In Florida, the advance health care directive becomes effective when a licensed physician determines that the principal lacks the capacity to make their own medical decisions. As stated in Section 765.103, an advance directive created before October 1, 1999, remains valid as long as it was legally valid at the time it was created.

According to Section 765.104, a Florida advance directive can be amended or revoked by a competent principal in several ways, such as:

Additional Legal Considerations for the Florida Advance Health Care Directive

Section 765.105 allows the patient’s family, health care facility, attending physician, or any concerned party to request expedited judicial review if they believe the surrogate or Florida health care proxy is not making decisions aligned with the patient’s wishes or the law.

According to Section 765.112, an advance directive executed in another state is considered valid in Florida if it complies with either the laws of that state or Florida’s laws.

Under Section 765.113, unless the principal has specifically given written permission, a surrogate or proxy cannot make the following decisions:

• Abortion, sterilization, electroshock therapy, psychosurgery, unapproved experimental treatments, or voluntary admission to a mental health facility

• Withholding or withdrawing life-prolonging treatments from a pregnant person before the fetus is viable

How to Choose a Health Care Agent in Florida?

Your agent should be reliable, understand your health care preferences, and be willing to act in your best interest. They should also be someone who can communicate effectively with health care providers. Make sure the person is legally competent, available when needed, and familiar with your values and medical treatment wishes.

What Happens if You Don’t Have an Advance Directive in Florida?

As stated in Section 765.401-765.404, if you do not have an advance directive in Florida, healthcare decisions will be made by a judicially appointed guardian if one has been appointed. 

If no guardian is available, the decision-making responsibility will fall to your spouse, then to adult children, parents, siblings, other relatives, or close friends, in that order of priority.

If none of these individuals are available, a clinical social worker or ethics committee may be designated to make decisions, particularly in cases such as a persistent vegetative state.

As a result, setting up an advance directive is a crucial part of advance care planning to ensure your medical wishes are honored, and consulting a lawyer can help ensure your preferences are clearly expressed and legally enforceable.