Estate Planning

Free Combination Living Will, Designation of Health care Surrogate and HIPAA Release

By David M. Goldman

The other day, I wrote an article on the pitfalls of using a Free Florida Durable Power of Attorney. I have been thinking of a way to provide a good power of attorney for my readers. I have been unable to come up with a generic form that I feel comfortable publishing because of the huge liability associated with the Power of Attorney in Florida. Perhaps I will figure a way to accomplish this in the future. In the mean time, I have created the second most important document to any Florida Estate Plan - the Combination Living Will, Designation of Health care Surrogate and HIPAA Release.

You may ask what is a Combo Living Will and how is it different than my existing document. The biggest difference is that this document contains a HIPAA release which is necessary for your agent to obtain medical records, and the power for your agent to make decisions when you are unable to.

Many lawyers provide these as 3 separate documents. I find that my clients like to have them in a single document because it avoids the ability for your agent to show one or more but not all of the documents to achieve their desired results and circumvent yours. By having a single document you can make sure the objectives of Florida Living Will are preserved and consistent with any actions taken by your medical agent.
Free Combination Living Will, Designation of Health care Surrogate and HIPAA Release

You should have this document reviewed to make sure it was executed properly. Please contact your Florida Estate Planning Lawyer or Florida Lawyer to review the document.

Full post as published by Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog on March 12, 2008 (boomark / email).