What is a durable power of attorney?
A durable power of attorney lets you, the principal, authorize an agent to handle specified financial and legal matters. The document states that the authority can continue if you later become incapacitated. That continuity is what “durable” means.
A new Florida power of attorney is generally effective when signed. Florida restricts powers that begin only after a later event, with exceptions that include certain older documents and deployment-contingent military powers. Some significant powers, such as making gifts or changing beneficiary designations, require separate signing or initialing and are subject to additional limits. Authority to change a trust also depends on the trust’s terms.
A carefully prepared document can help someone you trust assist you and may provide an effective alternative to guardianship for the matters it covers. Spiro can explain the powers being granted and coordinate execution with the witnesses and acknowledgment Florida requires. See our power of attorney guide.
Who can establish a power of attorney?
An adult with the legal capacity to understand the document and the authority being granted can make a power of attorney. Capacity is considered at the time of execution; a diagnosis by itself does not answer the question. Florida generally requires the principal’s signature, two subscribing witnesses and acknowledgment before a notary or another authorized officer, with a procedure available when the principal is physically unable to sign.
If a person can no longer create a valid document, the next step is to review existing powers of attorney, trusts, health care directives and other available arrangements. Guardianship may be necessary for some matters, but Florida law requires consideration of sufficient alternatives.
Planning while you are well gives you time to choose an agent and discuss the responsibilities. Turning eighteen is also a useful occasion to consider financial authority, a health care surrogate and information-sharing permissions. These documents let a young adult choose who may help and how.
Who may act as an agent under a power of attorney?
Under Fla. Stat. 709.2105, an agent must be at least eighteen, or a financial institution with trust powers that has a place of business in Florida and is authorized to conduct trust business here. Choose someone you trust to exercise the particular powers the document grants. A Florida power of attorney is generally effective when signed, subject to limited exceptions, so this is a present responsibility as well as preparation for possible incapacity.
The agent must act within the granted authority, in good faith and in accordance with the duties Florida law imposes. There is ordinarily no ongoing court supervision, but the agent remains accountable and must keep records.
Look for honesty, organization, availability and a willingness to communicate with the people who matter to you. Name at least one alternate. Florida lets co-agents act independently unless the document says otherwise. If you prefer joint action, Spiro can help you consider how decisions will be made when someone is unavailable or views differ. A suitable professional fiduciary or trust company may also be an option. The goal is a clear, workable arrangement that gives you confidence in the person helping you.
What is a designation of health care surrogate?
A designation of health care surrogate names someone to assist with health information, medical decisions or both under Florida law. You can give directions, limit authority and name an alternate. The document should reflect how you would like help to work.
You may authorize specified powers to begin immediately, including access to information while you can still speak for yourself. Otherwise, decision-making authority generally begins after the required determination of incapacity. While you retain decision-making capacity, your own wishes control.
If no chosen surrogate is available when decisions are needed, Florida’s proxy statute supplies an order of priority. It considers an authorized guardian, a spouse and specified family members, then other eligible people under stated conditions. The law includes majority rules for certain groups, such as available adult children, and a further process when no suitable family member or friend is available. Naming a surrogate lets you identify your preferred person in advance. See Florida’s health care proxy rules.
What is a living will?
A living will records your wishes about life-prolonging procedures in the circumstances Florida law describes, including a terminal condition, an end-stage condition or a persistent vegetative state. It gives your health care team and the person helping you a written expression of your preferences when you cannot make or communicate the relevant decision.
The living will and health care surrogate designation work together. One records treatment instructions; the other identifies the person authorized to help with health information and decisions within the document and the law. Discussing your wishes with that person and your clinician can make the documents more useful.
A do-not-resuscitate order is a separate medical order addressing resuscitation after cardiac or respiratory arrest. Florida’s form has its own requirements and must be completed with a health care provider authorized to sign it. See our health care advance directives guide and the Florida Department of Health’s DNRO information.
What is a HIPAA authorization?
A HIPAA authorization is a written permission describing who may receive specified health information and for what purpose. It can help the people you choose communicate with providers, obtain records or assist with practical matters such as a claim or bill. A valid authorization includes required terms, including an expiration date or event and information about revocation.
HIPAA also permits some sharing with family or others involved in care without a formal authorization, depending on consent, circumstances and professional judgment. Written permission can make your preferences clearer and provide access within its stated scope, including for people who are not your health care surrogate.
A health care surrogate, financial agent and successor trustee may need different information for different responsibilities. Spiro can coordinate the documents so that the people helping you have appropriate authority. An authorization can be effective without waiting for incapacity, according to its terms. See the HHS guidance on sharing information with family and friends.