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Terms Used In Florida Statutes 765.303

  • declaration: means :
    (a) A witnessed document in writing, voluntarily executed by the principal in accordance with…. See Florida Statutes 765.101
  • Informed consent: means consent voluntarily given by a person after a sufficient explanation and disclosure of the subject matter involved to enable that person to have a general understanding of the treatment or procedure and the medically acceptable alternatives, including the substantial risks and hazards inherent in the proposed treatment or procedures, and to make a knowing health care decision without coercion or undue influence. See Florida Statutes 765.101
  • Physician: means a person licensed pursuant to chapter 458 or chapter 459. 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
  • Surrogate: means any competent adult expressly designated by a principal to make health care decisions and to receive health information. See Florida Statutes 765.101

(1) A living will may, BUT NEED NOT, be in the following form:

Living Will

Declaration made this   day of  ,   (year)  , I,   , willfully and voluntarily make known my desire that my dying not be artificially prolonged under the circumstances set forth below, and I do hereby declare that, if at any time I am incapacitated and

  (initial)   I have a terminal condition

or   (initial)   I have an end-stage condition

or   (initial)   I am in a persistent vegetative state

and if my primary physician and another consulting physician have determined that there is no reasonable medical probability of my recovery from such condition, I direct that life-prolonging procedures be withheld or withdrawn when the application of such procedures would serve only to prolong artificially the process of dying, and that I be permitted to die naturally with only the administration of medication or the performance of any medical procedure deemed necessary to provide me with comfort care or to alleviate pain.

It is my intention that this declaration be honored by my family and physician as the final expression of my legal right to refuse medical or surgical treatment and to accept the consequences for such refusal.

In the event that I have been determined to be unable to provide express and informed consent regarding the withholding, withdrawal, or continuation of life-prolonging procedures, I wish to designate, as my surrogate to carry out the provisions of this declaration:

Name: 

Address: 

       Zip Code:  

Phone:    

I understand the full import of this declaration, and I am emotionally and mentally competent to make this declaration.

Additional Instructions (optional):    

 (Signed) 

 Witness 

 Address 

 Phone 

 Witness 

 Address 

 Phone 

(2) The principal‘s failure to designate a surrogate shall not invalidate the living will.