A healthcare surrogate designation, also known as a medical power of attorney, essentially appoints a person to make critical medical decisions on your behalf, should you ever become incapacitated and cannot make those decisions on your own. Typically, these documents are created in conjunction with living wills. To learn more, or if you’d like to draft such an agreement, simply reach out to a seasoned healthcare surrogate designated lawyer from our Pasco County, Florida firm today.
We believe that everyone deserves to have their wishes for medical care upheld. Our firm is here to help these people preserve their dignity, even in a time of incapacitation of some sort. If you would like to speak with a knowledgeable and compassionate Pasco County, FL estate planning lawyer about drafting such a document, you are in the right place.
In a healthcare surrogate designation, the person who appoints the surrogate is known as the principal. Essentially, the principal will express their wishes for medical care in the event of future incapacitation, and the surrogate will be in charge of ensuring those wishes are respected, should the principal become incapacitated at some point and unable to make those decisions on their own. Both parties must sign the document, and it is legally binding.
Note that as long as the principal isn’t incapacitated, their wishes will always come before that of their surrogate. Typically, these documents also provide for the release of private medical information to the surrogate so they can make informed decisions on behalf of the principal.
A healthcare surrogate designation is limited only to medical decisions. Durable powers of attorney, on the other hand, give an agent (a person appointed by a principal) the authority to make both financial and medical decisions on their behalf, should they become incapacitated. This can include paying bills, applying for benefits, filing insurance claims and more.
A durable power of attorney is broader in scope, but a healthcare surrogate designation generally goes into more specific detail regarding the principal’s preferences regarding medical treatments.
If you’d like help drafting one of these agreements, simply contact The Law Offices of Matthew J. Jowanna, P.A. today. We are here to help you and your family get the peace of mind you deserve.
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