A medical emergency can happen to anyone at any age. If you are unconscious, sedated, or mentally incapacitated, someone must make medical decisions for you — and without the right documents in place, that person may not be who you would choose. Worse, your family may have to go to court to obtain guardianship before any decisions can be made.
Florida law provides two documents that solve this problem: a Designation of Healthcare Surrogate and a Living Will. Together, they form your complete healthcare advance directive package. Every Florida adult should have both.
What Is a Florida Designation of Healthcare Surrogate?
A Designation of Healthcare Surrogate (also called a healthcare proxy in other states) is a document in which you name a person — your surrogate — to make medical decisions on your behalf when you are unable to make or communicate your own decisions. The surrogate steps in when your attending physician determines you lack decision-making capacity.
Under F.S. §§ 765.101–765.205, your healthcare surrogate has the authority to:
- Consent to or refuse any medical treatment or procedure
- Select or change physicians, hospitals, and care facilities
- Access your medical records and health information
- Make end-of-life decisions consistent with your known wishes
- Apply for government benefits to pay for your care
Execution Requirements
A Florida healthcare surrogate designation must be:
- Signed by the principal (you)
- Witnessed by two adult witnesses
- Neither witness may be your surrogate or their spouse
- At least one witness may not be your spouse or blood relative
No notary is required — this is one area where Florida's healthcare documents differ from financial documents like a power of attorney.
What Is a Florida Living Will?
A living will is a written advance directive in which you state your wishes about life-prolonging medical procedures — specifically for situations where you are terminally ill, have an end-stage condition, or are in a persistent vegetative state and cannot communicate. It is governed by F.S. § 765.301 et seq.
A Florida living will typically addresses:
- Life-prolonging procedures — whether you want ventilators, CPR, dialysis, and other interventions that sustain life but do not cure the underlying condition
- Artificial nutrition and hydration — whether you want feeding tubes if you cannot eat on your own
- Comfort care — pain management and palliative care are always provided regardless of other decisions
The living will speaks for you when you cannot speak for yourself. It gives your medical team clear instructions and relieves your family of the burden of making impossible decisions without guidance.
Healthcare Surrogate vs. Living Will: Key Differences
| Feature | Healthcare Surrogate | Living Will |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Names a person to make decisions | States your own specific wishes |
| When it activates | Any incapacity preventing communication | Terminal illness, end-stage, or PVS only |
| Covers all medical decisions? | Yes — broad authority | No — specific scenarios only |
| Requires notary? | No — 2 witnesses only | No — 2 witnesses only |
| Can be overridden? | By patient if capacity returns | By patient or surrogate if circumstances differ |
The HIPAA Authorization: The Third Document You Need
Even with a healthcare surrogate, your family may be unable to get medical information from hospitals and doctors without a HIPAA Authorization. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) restricts the release of medical records to unauthorized parties — even family members.
A HIPAA Authorization allows your named individuals to receive your protected health information from any healthcare provider. Without it, your surrogate may face delays in getting the medical information needed to make informed decisions on your behalf.
Choosing Your Healthcare Surrogate
Your surrogate will make some of the most consequential decisions of your life — possibly including end-of-life decisions. Choose someone who:
- Knows your values, beliefs, and wishes about medical care
- Can handle stressful medical situations and communicate with healthcare providers
- Will advocate for your wishes even under pressure from family members who may disagree
- Is available and geographically accessible in an emergency
- Is willing to serve and understands the responsibility
Name an alternate surrogate in case your first choice is unavailable, unwilling, or incapacitated themselves at the time you need them.
Distributing Your Healthcare Documents
A healthcare surrogate designation and living will are only useful if the right people have access to them. After execution:
- Give a copy to your healthcare surrogate and alternate
- Give a copy to your primary care physician for your medical file
- Give copies to any hospitals or specialists you regularly use
- Keep the original in an accessible location — not locked in a safe deposit box
- Consider registering your Living Will with the Florida Department of Health's online registry
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Reading
- Florida Guardianship — and How to Avoid It — advance directives help prevent a court from making your medical decisions.
- The Florida Durable Power of Attorney — the financial-decision companion to your healthcare directives.
Get Your Complete Healthcare Advance Directive Package
Cornerstone prepares all three Florida healthcare documents — Designation of Healthcare Surrogate, Living Will, and HIPAA Authorization — as part of every complete estate plan. Be prepared before a crisis forces the issue.
Start Your Florida Estate Plan →This article is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed Florida attorney regarding your individual circumstances. Arthur Simpson, Esq. is licensed to practice law in the State of Florida.