Advance Directives Attorney in Newberry, Florida

Somebody is going to make decisions about your end-of-life care. The only question is whether it is you, ahead of time, or your family in a hospital corridor with a doctor waiting on an answer.

Advance directives are how you decide in advance. They cost little, they take one meeting, and they spare the people you love from guessing at what you would have wanted and second-guessing themselves afterward.

Merhar Law prepares advance directives for Newberry and western Alachua County residents. Our office is a straight drive east on Newberry Road.

The Living Will and What It Actually Decides

A living will applies in three situations, and only in those three.

A terminal condition is an injury or illness with no reasonable probability of recovery that will cause death without continued treatment.

An end-stage condition is an irreversible condition that has progressed to where treatment no longer does any good.

A persistent vegetative state is a permanent, irreversible loss of consciousness and brain function with no ability to communicate.

Before any of it applies, your treating physician and a second physician have to agree on your condition and whether you are likely to recover. The document does not get triggered by a bad day or a difficult diagnosis.

Inside it, you decide about artificially administered food and water, respiration, and resuscitation, and you name the person responsible for seeing that your wishes are followed. Read more on our main Living Will page.

Choosing Your Health Care Surrogate

Your health care surrogate makes medical decisions for you and can access your records. In Florida, any competent adult qualifies, and you should name backups.

Choosing well matters more than most people appreciate. Your surrogate has to follow your known wishes rather than their own preferences, and they have to keep you informed to whatever extent you can understand. If you are still able to advocate for yourself, they cannot override you. Your doctor has to listen to you first.

Pick someone who will hold up under pressure and who will actually say what you told them to say, even when other family members disagree. That is a different question from who you are closest to.

You also choose when their authority begins, either immediately upon signing or only once a physician or a court determines you cannot decide for yourself.

Declaration of Preneed Guardian

If a court ever needs to appoint a guardian for you, this names who you want it to be. File it with the Alachua County Clerk of the Court after signing so it can be found immediately if a case is opened.

Having a power of attorney and a health care surrogate makes guardianship far less likely, but a court may still get involved if someone becomes a danger to themselves financially or physically, or if another person is exploiting them. Those documents add authority for someone else without subtracting any from you, and only a court can do the subtracting.

Parents can also declare a preneed guardian for minor children, which must be filed with the clerk or it may be disregarded.

What Else Belongs in a Young Family's Plan

Advance directives are one piece. A will creating a trust for anything your children inherit is the other. Florida requires a court guardianship whenever a minor receives more than $15,000 outright, which a trust in your will avoids.

These Documents Do Not Cover Money

Advance directives handle medical decisions only. A durable power of attorney is what lets someone pay your bills, manage your accounts, and handle your property, including land and equipment, if you cannot. If real estate is a significant part of what you own, that document deserves real attention. See our main Power of Attorney page and our Newberry wills and trusts page.