Florida Statutes 765.302 – Procedure for making a living will; notice to physician
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Terms Used In Florida Statutes 765.302
- declaration: means :(a) A witnessed document in writing, voluntarily executed by the principal in accordance with…. See Florida Statutes 765.101
- End-stage condition: means an irreversible condition that is caused by injury, disease, or illness which has resulted in progressively severe and permanent deterioration, and which, to a reasonable degree of medical probability, treatment of the condition would be ineffective. See Florida Statutes 765.101
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Health care: means care, services, or supplies related to the health of an individual and includes, but is not limited to, preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, rehabilitative, maintenance, or palliative care, and counseling, service, assessment, or procedure with respect to the individual's physical or mental condition or functional status or that affect the structure or function of the individual's body. See Florida Statutes 765.101
- Health care facility: means a hospital, nursing home, hospice, home health agency, or health maintenance organization licensed in this state, or any facility subject to part I of chapter 394. See Florida Statutes 765.101
- Persistent vegetative state: means a permanent and irreversible condition of unconsciousness in which there is:
(a) The absence of voluntary action or cognitive behavior of any kind. See Florida Statutes 765.101- person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
- Physician: means a person licensed pursuant to chapter 458 or chapter 459. See Florida Statutes 765.101
- Primary physician: means a physician designated by an individual or the individual's surrogate, proxy, or agent under a durable power of attorney as provided in chapter 709, to have primary responsibility for the individual's health care or, in the absence of a designation or if the designated physician is not reasonably available, a physician who undertakes the responsibility. See Florida Statutes 765.101
- Principal: means a competent adult executing an advance directive and on whose behalf health care decisions are to be made or health care information is to be received, or both. See Florida Statutes 765.101
- Terminal condition: means a condition caused by injury, disease, or illness from which there is no reasonable medical probability of recovery and which, without treatment, can be expected to cause death. See Florida Statutes 765.101
(1) Any competent adult may, at any time, make a living will or written declaration and direct the providing, withholding, or withdrawal of life-prolonging procedures in the event that such person has a terminal condition, has an end-stage condition, or is in a persistent vegetative state. A living will must be signed by the principal in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, one of whom is neither a spouse nor a blood relative of the principal. If the principal is physically unable to sign the living will, one of the witnesses must subscribe the principal’s signature in the principal’s presence and at the principal’s direction.(2) It is the responsibility of the principal to provide for notification to her or his primary physician that the living will has been made. In the event the principal is physically or mentally incapacitated at the time the principal is admitted to a health care facility, any other person may notify the physician or health care facility of the existence of the living will. A primary physician or health care facility which is so notified shall promptly make the living will or a copy thereof a part of the principal’s medical records.(3) A living will, executed pursuant to this section, establishes a rebuttable presumption of clear and convincing evidence of the principal’s wishes.