Florida Living Will And Durable Power Of Attorney

The new dpoa statute which will be effective on october 1 2011 and can be found at florida statute section 709 2101 through 709 2402 has many changes and will apply to all durable powers of attorney regardless of when they were created.

Florida living will and durable power of attorney.

Living wills and durable powers of attorney for health care may be used to specify your wishes regarding your health care matters and whether you want life support if you are in a condition to require it. However there are certain exceptions specified in florida law when a durable power of attorney may not be used for an incapacitated principal. At such a point the document would become void. A living will a durable power of attorney for finances and a durable power of attorney for health care typically appear as three separate documents.

The florida general power of attorney form allows for the same rights for an agent as the durable which is to act in the principal s best interest for any financial matter legal within the state. These documents are sometimes referred to as health care directives or health care proxies and may even be incorporated into one document. The difference lies in the fact that the general form does not remain valid if the principal loses decisional capacity. Florida durable power of attorney for health care form living will title xliv chapter 765 part i section 765 101 765 113 of 2015 florida statutes has guidelines related to issuing advanced directives to appoint a health care surrogate to take health care decision on your behalf in case you are declared incapacitated to do so.

The forms included on the florida agency for health care administration s health care advance directives website scroll down to find the downloadable forms have been approved by the supreme court of florida. If you see that it indeed authorizes the dpoa agent to act then you can bring the trust document along with the durable power of attorney to the bank. Under florida law they should then allow. Having all three ensures the meeting of your health and financial needs in the event of your incapacitation.

A durable power of attorney must contain special wording that provides the power survives the. A power of attorney terminates if the principal becomes incapacitated unless it is a special kind of power of attorney known as a durable power of attorney a durable power of attorney remains effective even if a person becomes incapacitated. The good news is that old poa s those signed before 10 1 11 are not invalid so long as they were valid before the new statute came into effect. By shae irving j d.

A durable power of attorney is for any person that appoints someone else to handle financial matters on their behalf before and after they should become incapacitated. It is the most common type of power of attorney designation due to its practicality of allowing someone else to handle tax matters and everyday banking for another person. Neither the supreme court of florida nor the florida bar expresses an opinion as to whether the forms comport with.