Living Wills
Will lawyers serving the greater Orlando and Winter Park area of Central Florida
As medical technology advances, the reality is that hospitals and doctors can keep you alive for a prolonged time. If you are in a coma, or incapacitated in some other way, you will not be able to express your preferences about your care. Medical costs will mount while family members struggle to make agonizing decisions on your behalf.
But with a living will or advance directive in place, hospitals and doctors must honor the wishes you express in those documents about how your medical care should be handled.
A living will is part of a comprehensive estate plan. Read more about the estate planning services we offer to the Orlando and Winter Park communities
What is a living will?
Without living wills or advance directives, decisions about end-of-life medical care could fall to others, like doctors or judges, who do not know the preferences of the patient in question. The Orlando will attorneys of Baldwin & Morrison are experienced in advising clients what to include in a living will to properly protect their wishes.
In the event that people are unable to speak for themselves or are near death, living wills specify what medical procedures and life-prolonging measures they would want including the following:
- CPR
- Renal dialysis
- Use of a respirator
- Blood transfusions
- Withholding food or water
What is an advance directive?
When a living will is combined with a durable power of attorney for healthcare, the document is known as an advance directive. A power of attorney for healthcare designates a trusted relative or friend who will act as your healthcare agent and make necessary healthcare decisions on your behalf.
Contact us for help with your living will
A living will should not be confused with a last will and testament, but living wills should be part of any comprehensive estate plan. To consult a Winter Park area estate planning attorney knowledgeable about living wills in Florida, please contact the Law Offices of Baldwin & Morrison, P.A. today.
Baldwin & Morrison brings years of experience and an in-depth legal knowledge to all of their cases. They provide legal services in the areas of probate, wills, trusts, and real estate law to residents of Orlando, Winter Park, Casselberry, Sanford, Lake Mary and surrounding cities.
