Health Care Surrogate Designation

• Health Care Surrogate Designation – Designating someone to make health care decisions for you in the event that you become incapacitated, either temporarily or permanently, is an important part of every estate plan. Florida Law provides that you may designate another person to make medical and surgical decisions on your behalf in the event that your attending physician ever makes a determination that you are unable to provide informed consent to medical treatment.  Our law firm recommends that you also name an alternate Health Care Surrogate, in the event that the first person named is unavailable when needed.

It is important that your Health Care Surrogate Designation include the addresses and telephone numbers of the persons named as your Health Care Surrogate, and Alternate, so that your physician and/or hospital can easily reach them in an emergency.

It is also important that you provide your each of your physicians with copies of your Health Care Surrogate Designation, as well as provide either originals or copies to each of the Surrogates you name to act on your behalf.  Unlike your other legal documents, you should keep your Health Care Surrogate Designation at home, and not in a safe deposit box, so that it may be easily retrieved when needed.

Florida Law provides that you may designate another person to make medical and surgical decisions on your behalf in the event that your attending physician ever makes a determination that you are unable to provide informed consent to medical treatment.  Our law firm recommends that you also name an alternate Health Care Surrogate, in the event that the first person named is unavailable when needed. It is important that your Health Care Surrogate Designation include the addresses and telephone numbers of the persons named as your Health Care Surrogate, and Alternate, so that your physician and/or hospital can easily reach them in an emergency. It is also important that you provide your each of your physicians with copies of your Health Care Surrogate Designation, as well as provide either originals or copies to each of the Surrogates you name to act on your behalf.  Unlike your other legal documents, you should keep your Health Care Surrogate Designation at home, and not in a safe deposit box, so that it may be easily retrieved when needed.